Old Feelings Die Hard
by Vehemently Yours
Summary: [A/U-Kag/Inu] Inuyasha and Kagome went dated in high school and thought they would last forever. But then Inyuasha moved away and now, after two years, he sees her again. Too bad she gets engaged to his stepbrother Sesshoumaru...
1. I: A Walk In, Only To Walk Back Out

            A/N-Wow, I'm in the process of writing so many fics. I just keep getting ideas and it drives me crazy when my ideas just stay in my head. I kinda need to finish my Tamora Pierce fics too. ^_^;; They all probably think I died over there. Oh and this is SO going to be an Inuyasha/Kagome story. There is no way I'm keeping it Sesshoumaru/Kagome. Well, I suppose if you people really wanted this to be a Kagome/Sesshoumaru fic, I could probably handle writing it but I personally prefer Inuyasha/Kagome. Scratch that, no matter what you say it's going to be Inuyasha/Kagome. I just can't write Sesshoumaru/Kagome. ***Shudders*** So you Sesshoumaru/Kagome fans better drink in the Sess/Kag-ness now because it is SO not lasting long and there isn't even very much Sess/Kag-ness just because I don't like it. And since white haired, dog eared people walking around modern day Tokyo is just plain strange, Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru and their father all have black hair. And no dog-ears for Inuyasha (as much as I'd rather he kept them) But it's still long hair since I couldn't bear to cut it.  

            Disclaimer-I do not own the Inuyasha characters.

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**Old Feelings Die Hard**

**Chapter I**

"But-but what if they don't like me?" Kagome asked frantically. "I mean, they've never met me before. What if-"

"They'll love you," Sesshoumaru assured her, grinning.

Kagome sighed and plopped back against the seat, watching the buildings in the car window pass by. Despite Sesshoumaru's reassurance, she still felt like her lunch suddenly wasn't sitting very well in her stomach. It didn't help at all that Sesshoumaru had only called her two hours ago to tell her that they were going to pay his parents a visit. Talk about short notice. And she had never met his parents before. Hell, she didn't even know his parents' names! In the year and a half that they had been dating, Sesshoumaru had never talked about his parents much. He had talked about his father every once in awhile but he had never mentioned his mother. Kagome had just assumed that he didn't have one and that she had passed away or his parents had divorced or something.

Kagome glanced over at Sesshoumaru, whose gaze was fixed on the road in front of him. She just realized how little she knew of his family. He knew everything about her family. He knew that she had an older sister named Kikyo, who was already married to a dentist named Naraku (A/N-No, he's not evil in this story and the only reason Kikyo's even married to him is because I can't think of any other male character in Inuyasha besides Inuyasha, Miroku, Sesshoumaru, Jaken, and Shippo. And her married to Jaken or Shippo, even if they don't necessarily have to be like their characters in the show, just creeped me out). He also knew that her mother's name was Kaede and her father's name was Kakashi. Honestly, and what did she know about his family? His father's name was Inutaisho. 

"You never really talk about your mother. What's her name? What's she like?" Kagome asked. She was suddenly very curious. Kagome noticed that his grip tightened on the steering wheel and his jaw ticked slightly as if in irritation. When she was just about to apologize and change the subject, he answered her.

"My real mother lives in America. My parents divorced when I was six. Two years later, my father remarried," he answered though she noticed that it was a bit stiff. She concluded that he didn't like his stepmother very much.

"Well do you have any brothers or sisters?" Kagome pressed. She had to know about his family eventually, right?

"I have a step brother. He's five years younger than me, the same age as you, nineteen," Sesshoumaru answered tensely and Kagome decided not to press further since she'd meet them soon enough anyway. Now that she knew a little bit more about his family, the jumping and fluttering in her stomach was placated to a queasiness in the pit of her stomach and slight light-headedness, her nerves appeased slightly but still there nonetheless. (A/N-Is dating a guy five years older than you while you're in college weird? I can't decide. I think it's sorta weird but then I think about and don't really think it's very strange. But then when I think about it again, I think it's odd again.)

"Is he going to be there?" Kagome asked.

"Who?"

"Your step brother."

"Yes…He lived with them for half a year until he left for college. Now he's on spring vacation. Before that, he was living with his dad," Sesshoumaru muttered.

Sighing, Kagome decided to give up on trying to ask him about his family seeing as he seemed reluctant to talk about them. '_Why is he bringing me to his family if he doesn't want to talk about them, anyway?_' Kagome thought to herself, scowling. He knew about her family. What was wrong with her asking about his family? He knew everything about her family, the least he could was talk about his. She was going to meet them in about five minutes and she absolutely nothing about them. Oh wait…his father's name was Inutaisho. Kagome snorted. '_I feel so informed…_' she thought sarcastically to herself. And what am I supposed to call his mother? Hey you?

Besides, it wasn't like her family was exactly perfect either. Growing up, she had always been compared to Kikyo because she was older and smarter and prettier and more skillful and as close to damn perfect as a mortal could get. Kagome used to hate it when she would come running inside with her clothes all wet from playing by the river and her mother's friends would ask, "Why didn't she turn out like Kikyo? You must have done something wrong with her, Kaede." Hearing that used to make her blood boil and if she heard it again, it probably still would. She hadn't heard it recently though since she had moved out to go to college a year ago and hadn't really been back to her home since. She hadn't really talked to her family either. Kagome huffed. It's not like she wanted to though… 

Sesshoumaru glanced over at her, hearing her scoff but turned back to the road when he saw that she seemed to be deep in thought.

Kagome climbed out of the car and then just stood beside the car, rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet as if unsure of what to do next. It was a small but pleasant looking home with white walls and beige colored shutters and trim with dark gray shingles covering the roof. The lawn was well kept and lusciously green. Kagome desperately wanted to take off her shoes and run through it but decided that running barefoot through Sesshoumaru's parents' lawn wasn't the best first impression to give them. The roses lining the sides of the driveway were just beginning to get buds and the petals were falling pleasantly from the sakura tree on the side of the house. A light was on in the room behind the large bay window beside the front door, illuminating the deep red drapes.

Sesshoumaru walked around the car and wrapped an arm around her waist, walking a reluctant Kagome up to the front door. Once at the door, he fumbled in his pocket until he brought out his keys. Finding the right key, Sesshoumaru unlocked the front door and stepped inside, Kagome following him. Kagome glanced around to guess that they were in a sort of living room.

"Father? It's me!" Sesshoumaru called.

Kagome heard the sound of footsteps even before Sesshoumaru was done talking. Soon a couple Kagome assumed to be Sesshoumaru's parents came into the room, smiling.

"Ahh, Sesshoumaru! So good to see you son!" his father said, jovially clapping Sesshoumaru on the back. "And this must be the fine lady you've been talking so much about! Hello and welcome Kagome!"

Kagome flushed. Yeah, too bad she knew nothing about them. "Hello…Sesshoumaru's parents…" Kagome greeted, lamely. _'Idiot!'_ she shouted at herself silently. 

"You can just call us Inutaisho and Moriko, dear," the woman said politely.

"After all, we're practically family, right?" Inutaisho asked, winking.

Kagome liked Sesshoumaru's parents. They made you feel comfortable even in a situation that should've been very uneasy. 

Moriko ushered them all towards the coffee table where they all took a seat on the couch and Moriko served some tea. Soon they were chatting easily and sipping tea.

Inutaisho glanced at the cuckoo clock on the far wall of the living room. "He's late."

"Well, you know him dear," Moriko said soothingly, patting her husband's shoulder. Then she looked towards Sesshoumaru. "You know how your brother is."

"_Step_brother," Sesshoumaru corrected and Kagome swore that she could feel a cold wind blow through the room.

"Right," his stepmother agreed, smiling amiably. An uncomfortable silence followed this but soon headlights shining through the window caught everyone's attention.

"Here he is now," Inutaisho said. 

They heard a car door slam which was soon followed by the sound of a key in the lock. Soon the door opened and a young man stepped inside.

"Traffic," he explained, grinning apologetically. 

Kagome's mouth dropped open in shock as she looked at him. The young man's eyes surveyed the family until his gaze fastened on Kagome and his eyes widened in surprise. He blinked a few times and then, without a word, he turned and walked back out the door, shutting it behind him.

All Kagome could do was stare at the door and mouth the words she wanted to say but no sound backed up the lip movements.

_'Inu…yasha?'_

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**A/N-Hmm…I have nothing to say which is very strange. I usually have a lot to say after the first chapter of a fic. Well, what'd you guys think? Good, bad? Sucked? Should I continue it or delete it now so it won't have to burn the eyes of other readers? **


	2. II: What's One More To The Pile

A/N- *****IMPORTANT*** **Even if you usually skip over the author's notes, all of you who read the first chapter when I first posted it, read this. I made some changes to the family situation. I changed the first chapter already. Alright, I changed it so that Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru aren't half brothers but stepbrothers, meaning that they were both born before their parents got married. This is why Sesshoumaru didn't know Kagome while she and Inuyasha were dating since Inuyasha was living his dad during high school. Then Inuyasha left to live with Moriko (his mother) and Inutaisho (his stepfather) and that's why he moved. And this also explains why Moriko and Inutaisho don't know Kagome because yeah. That explains everything. I was thinking about the whole half brother thing and realized that that just didn't explain things enough and it didn't work so I changed it. That should get rid of the confusion I've been having about it too ^_^

Disclaimer-I do not own the Inuyasha characters but I'm working on it. It's number three on my to-do list right under world domination and befriend the macaroni penguins.

This chapter is dedicated to Pink straw, who was the first to review! Woo! ***Confetti falls out of the ceiling***

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**Old Feelings Die Hard**

**Chapter II**

Still in a deep state of shock, Inuyasha sat down on the doorstep. He couldn't believe it. She was here! He was about to stand up excitedly to go in and talk to her when the realization came crashing down on him and he sat back down on the step. 

"She's Sesshoumaru's girlfriend?!" he asked himself in amazement. And then he got a strange feeling. Was it jealousy? Why? She must've dated dozens of guys since she left…Then Inuyasha scratched his head. Come to think of it, he had been jealous then too. He was always wondering what kind of guy she was dating while he was gone. Those kinds of thoughts only made him want to march back to Kyoto and kick some ass. (A/N-Kagome lived in Kyoto and she and Inuyasha went to a high school in Kyoto. Inuyasha's father lived in Kyoto. Moriko and Inutaisho live in Tokyo and that's where Kagome goes to college. Inuyasha also goes to some college in Tokyo. I really don't know any colleges in Tokyo so I can't really name them ^_^;;)

Inuyasha had dated Kagome in high school. They had had the kind of love you only found in fairy tales, or so it seemed like anyway. He had been the type of person who slept in the back of the classroom or made smart-ass comments when the teacher called on him and Kagome had been the straight-A student at the top of the class. Despite the fact that they had been as opposite as they could possibly be, Inuyasha had asked Kagome out in sophomore year and after that, they dated for two years. For two years they were absolutely inseparable despite everyone's doubts that they would ever last so long. And then Inuyasha had moved. After that they had tried to keep up their relationship as best they could but they slowly lost touch and grew farther apart. Finally, they had broken it off deciding that it just wouldn't work with them so far apart. 

Inuyasha ran a hand through his hair and then pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes. "This is a nightmare…" he muttered. Then he sat up, asking himself how it was a nightmare. That was two years ago! Everything changed and he couldn't possibly still have the same feelings so it wasn't a nightmare. It was just fine. 

With that thought in mind, Inuyasha stood up and got ready to open the door when he thought about what would happen. 

"Well what am I supposed to fucking say? 'Hey babe, remember me? I called you a know-it-all goodie two shoes bitch for two years before I asked you out. Remember?' Feh, yeah, there you go!" Inuyasha muttered sarcastically, holding the door handle. "Well, one thing's for sure: I'm sure as hell not going to tell Sesshoumaru she's my ex-girlfriend. We hate each other enough as it is."

Kagome blinked at the door. Had she seen right? Was that really Inuyasha? Two years of not seeing him and he's…Sesshoumaru's step brother? Kagome glanced over at Sesshoumaru and realized that he had always reminded her of Inuyasha kind of. They looked the same sort of but they were so different.

"Kagome? Are you okay? Do you know Inuyasha?" Inutaisho asked, jerking Kagome out of her thoughts.

"Oh…umm, no," Kagome answered quickly. She heard the front door open again and she looked at the floor, the wall, the ceiling, anything but the person walking through the door. She wiggled slightly in happiness. She couldn't wait to talk to him later. She wanted to know what he had been up to and how he had been doing in the last two years.

            "Ignore Inuyasha's unusual antics. He's always like this," Sesshoumaru told her and Inuyasha glared at him.

" 'Antics?'" Kagome repeated, looking at the table. "What antics? Oh! _Those_ antics, right…" she mumbled, laughing slightly.

Sesshoumaru glanced over at her and she stared firmly down at the coffee table.

Kagome shifted uncomfortably on the couch. The entire dinner with the family thing had gone from bad to good to KABOOM! So should she just tell them that she knew Inuyasha? It wasn't that big a deal if she knew him, right? Then she frowned, remembering that Sesshoumaru didn't seem to like Inuyasha too much. Inuyasha probably wasn't too fond of Sesshoumaru either. Having Sesshoumaru know that his stepbrother, whom he seemed to despise, was her ex-boyfriend would just make things awkward and uncomfortable. But it wasn't like she wasn't feeling awkward and uncomfortable already. What's one more to the pile?

'_Stupid!'_ she screamed silently to herself. _'Just pretend like you don't know him, idiot! You're supposed to be making a good impression here!'_

Kagome looked up at smiled at Inutaisho and Moriko. "This is a really lovely house."

Kagome felt like she could slap herself. _'Lovely house? How lame was that?'_

Moriko smiled pleasantly, slightly calming the panic in Kagome's brain. "Why thank you dear. You're staying here over your break, right?"

Kagome jumped, panicking again. "I am?"

"Why, yes. Sesshoumaru said you two were staying here over spring break," Moriko told her.

"Oh…right…" Kagome mumbled. _'Idiot! That was two years ago and it's over now so just pretend like you don't know him! Sesshoumaru's parents are probably thinking you're crazy!'_

"So what are you majoring in college?" Inutaisho asked Kagome.

"I'm majoring in art," Kagome answered, glad that a subject to talk about was finally brought up.

"Oh how nice!" Moriko said, smiling. "Inuyasha here is majoring in graphic arts and animation! Isn't that right dear?"

"Yeah," Inuyasha answered and Kagome glanced up at him, surprised. She had never known that he was interested in animation or graphic art. He had always joked that he was going to be a bartender or one of those creepy bouncers that stood outside all the fancy clubs and bars (Kagome had laughed and told him that he was too scrawny to be a bouncer) or something like that. He had even once joked that he was going to be a pirate of the black market or the leader of the underworld.  

Just then, Kagome heard a beeping noise like a timer going off.

"Dinner's ready!" Moriko declared cheerfully and then they all moved into the kitchen.

Moriko placed stuffed cabbage, mashed potatoes, fresh salad, and a macaroni salad on the table and Inuyasha smirked. If he had known that Sesshoumaru's girlfriend was Kagome, he could've told his mother that Kagome didn't like cabbage and was allergic to mayonnaise. He glanced over at Kagome and saw that she noticed the macaroni salad and stuffed cabbage as well and was shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot as if undecided about something.

They all took a seat at the table and Moriko insisted on serving Kagome, who began to protest when she placed stuffed cabbage on her plate but shut her mouth when Moriko smiled pleasantly at her.

"Looks great!" Kagome said, smiling slightly. Then she picked up her fork and poked at the cabbage a bit while the rest of the family was busy talking to each other. When Kagome thought no one was looking, she quickly pushed the stuffed cabbage off her plate and onto the napkin in her lap.

_'Great! Now what do I do with it?'_ Kagome asked herself, looking down at it sitting in her lap.

"Macaroni salad dear?" Moriko asked Kagome politely.

"Uhm, n-" Kagome began to say but Moriko was already serving her some macaroni salad. Kagome smiled weakly. "Thank you." When no one was looking, she again shoved it off her plate and into the napkin.

_'Idiot! Now what?' _Kagome fumed silently to herself. _'Such an idiot!'_

Inuyasha smiled slightly, watching from his seat across the table as Kagome seemed to be silently arguing with herself. He caught her attention by stepping on her foot and then motioned for her to pass him the napkin. At first she didn't understand what he was saying so he dropped his gaze downward to where her lap would be if the table weren't there and again motioned for her to hand it to him.

Kagome glanced around to make sure the rest of the family was preoccupied and passed him the napkin under the table. Then he excused himself and left the room. Kagome wondered what he was going to do with it.

Inuyasha sighed, slamming the door to his car shut and walked to the doors of the diner. That night was strange. After two years he finally saw the supposed "love of his life" again and lo and behold, she's his brother's girlfriend. Inuyasha figured he would never see her again and now that he had seen her again, he wondered whether or not he still had any feelings for her. During dinner he couldn't really tell since he was too busy watching her hide all her food in her lap. 

Inuyasha smiled to himself, shaking his head. Kagome was still how he remembered her. Walking towards a table, Inuyasha stopped short when he spotted the object of his thoughts sitting at a table. She looked like she was arguing with herself and Inuyasha smiled again. She was spooning out an ice cube from her soda. She had always loved to munch on ice cubes and Inuyasha could never figure out why.

He slid into the booth to sit across from Kagome and she jumped, dropping the ice cube on her lap. She closed her eyes and winced. 

"Cold…" she whimpered.

Inuyasha grinned. "Long time no see."  

"Yeah, I guess so…" Kagome murmured, twirling a fry absently between her fingers.

"So, Sesshoumaru eh?" Inuyasha clucked his tongue in disappointment. "I thought you had better tastes than that."

Kagome grinned, kicking him under the table. "You kidding me? What good tastes? I dated you didn't I?"

"Only you can slam yourself and me at the same time," Inuyasha replied, chuckling.

"Besides, I had no idea he was your brother. He never talked about his family much. Sure, he kinda looked like you but you two are totally different so I had no idea," Kagome explained.

"I'm offended," Inuyasha said simply. "I always thought I looked much better than him."

"Yeah well that's what happens when your ego gets bigger than your brain. It starts to have a mind of it's own," Kagome told him, grinning.

"Ouch," Inuyasha said, wincing. "Now that was harsh. So how'd you meet my ever-so-cuddly bastard of a brother anyway?"

"Well in my senior year of high school, I just kind of ran into him at a café and…yeah," Kagome explained awkwardly.

"That's the same year I moved away," Inuyasha murmured. "Got over me so quickly?"

Kagome flushed and looked down at her plate. What was she supposed to tell him? The truth? That she every time in the year after he left when she let her mind wander, she would see him or remember him or get flashbacks of them together? She couldn't tell him that now! She…had Sesshoumaru now and she couldn't go telling him things like that.

"Well, glad you moved on anyway. Missing you almost completely ruined my love life," he said, laughing to himself.

"How?"

"Three months after I started going to my new high school, I went out with this girl and I don't even remember her name. I only remembered that I called her Kagome and she threw a milkshake in my face."

Kagome put a hand over her mouth, trying to stifle her laughter. "What flavor?" she finally managed to ask.

"Chocolate I think."

"What'd you do with the food from dinner?" Kagome asked suddenly.

Inuyasha shrugged. "I gave it to the dog. You're too picky an eater."

"Well I can't eat mayonnaise! I'd have to go get a shot to keep my head from swelling up to the size of a watermelon," Kagome protested.

"I know. So…how did this happen anyway? Isn't it kind of strange?" Inuyasha asked.

Anyone else would have asked Inuyasha to elaborate but Kagome knew what he was talking about since she was thinking the exact same thing. "I don't know. You moved away so we kinda lost touch. But how did Sesshoumaru not know that I was your ex-girlfriend?"

Inuyasha shrugged. "Me and my brother didn't talk to each other much. Well, we didn't talk to each other at all actually. While I was in high school, I was living with my dad and he was living with my mom and Inutaisho so I didn't have a chance to tell him anything even if I wanted to. Then I moved in with my mom and Inutaisho."

"Wow, small world eh?" Kagome asked, grinning.

"Naw, big world, strange Fates," Inuyasha told her, looking over at her.

Kagome fidgeted and looked back down at her cheeseburger as emotions that she thought were gone a long time ago began to stir within her. They should've been gone a long time ago and she needed to get rid of them now. She glanced up again when Inuyasha grabbed her hand and laced his fingers through hers.

"I missed you," he murmured, looking intently at her hand.

"Ah, young love," Kagome heard an old woman sigh to her friend at the table behind Kagome's. "Brings back old memories, eh Ester?"

Kagome pulled her hand away and turned around towards them. "Actually," she began to explain but stopped when she realized that she didn't feel like explaining the story to them. It was too long of a story and she could feel Inuyasha's gaze burning a hole through the back of her head. She had to leave. 

She turned back towards Inuyasha. "I have to go get my stuff. He called me two hours before the dinner to tell me that we were going to eat dinner at his-_your_ parents' house and I didn't know we were going to be staying so I didn't get a chance to pack," Kagome explained, grinning apologetically as she stood and slung her purse over her shoulder. She quickly paid for her food and then left the diner.

Inuyasha nodded and watched her leave and get into her car. He watched until her car turned out of the parking lot and sped off down the street.

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**A/N-*Sigh* I love the Inuyasha/Kagome-ness ^_^ Uhh…Yeah that's all I've got to say…so review! **

**Review Responses:**

hellz angelz-Bomb? Where? ***Ducks*** Okay, that was lame -_-;;; Anyway, I updated! Woo! Go me! YoukaiTaiji-ya's Ego: I ROCK!

Full Moon-San-Hmm…Interesting chart! That makes  me a taunter. Nyah nyah nyah nyah! Nana boo boo! ***Sticks tongue out tauntingly*** Okay, bad YoukaiTaiji-ya. I didn't leave a cliffy for this chapter! And the last chapter wasn't a cliffy. I like to think of it….as a really really small ledge. ^_^

Full Moon-san-Whoa! I'm seeing double! There's two Full Moon-sans! Someone stole someone's name. ***Blinks*** Oh, oops, you're the same people huh? I knew that. Ooh, wow! Can you stalk me even though I got the next chapter up? I always wanted my own stalker!

LilDragonKeeper-Now you know what they say and how they act! Sesshoumaru acts normal since he thinks they don't know each other. Oh, except later, he…Well I can't tell you! ^_^

Hanamaru285-Wow, a reviewer from my other fics! Hi there!

Princess Sapphire-Yes, Inuyasha is very polite. Very very polite. I'm lying through my teeth…

Celtic*Demon*Yume-Ooh, cool name! I like the asterisks! I didn't know you could use those in a pen name. Well now I do…

silverstarlight-Yes, Inu/Kag-ness rocks! Woo! Ooh…I just said dog/Kag-ness rocks…That's kinda wrong…somehow…Well anyway, yes! There are a lot of things I can do with this! I'm very excited because I get to do some evil stuff ***Cackles evilly*** Kukukuku -Naraku laugh=EVIL! 

tenshineko-Doesn't your name mean angel cat?  Or was tenshi sky? No, it's angel…Oh, in math, I was spelling angle as angel the whole time. Heh, that's got nothing to do with it but I just remembered that…Their parting was fine. Inuyasha was just kinda…paralyzed with shock so he just groped for the nearest escape route I suppose. And no, this will not improve sibling relationships one bit. ^_^ And yes, thank you for checking my math. For some reason, right after math class, I can't do math. I have no idea why. I just can't. I guess in math class I get all…ehh…mathed out. But I changed their little relationship to each other anyway if you read the author's note above. So now they're…did I say five? Yeah, five years apart now. Nope, S/K just doesn't work for me…ever. So it's I/K woo hoo! I hate writing all the S/K-ness. It gets on my nerves so I won't be writing much of it. You all will just have to assume they're sharing fluffy, romantic moments because…bleh!

fallen pheniox-I'm sorta fast I suppose. Usually I'm faster than this but this week's been sorta hectic.

Pink straw-Yes! You were the first to review! Congrats!


	3. III: Well This Isn't So Awkward

A/N-Sorry I haven't updated recently. Been busy with three research projects, two of which I should be working on right now but I decided to take a break on since I've been working on them for almost five hours now. I don't have time to do review responses, so sorry but I don't. I'll do them next time I promise.

Disclaimer- I don't own the Inuyasha characters blah blah blah etc. etc.

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**Old Feelings Die Hard**

**Chapter III**

It didn't take Kagome long to gather the stuff she would need together. She was only going to be staying for two weeks after all. Her roommate, Sango, walked into their dormitory to see Kagome rushing around and tossing things carelessly into a suitcase.

"Kagome-chan! Are you moving out?" Sango asked in shock.

"No, no, I'm just staying at Sesshoumaru's parents' home for awhile," Kagome assured her friend. "You'll have to visit me there or I'll die in the awkwardness!"

" 'Awkwardness?'" Sango repeated, raising an eyebrow questioningly.

"Yes," Kagome sighed as she paused in her packing to lean against the wall. "You remember that guy I told you about? The one I went out with for two years in high school until he moved away?"

"Inuyasha. Yeah, you may have mentioned him once…or twice…or three times…a day," Sango answered, grinning, as she picked up a baseball sitting on the edge of Kagome's desk and tossed it from hand to hand. "Why didn't you guys keep in touch after he moved anyway?! You guys sounded perfect and it sounded like you really loved him."

"Inuyasha is Sesshoumaru's half brother!" Kagome hissed.

Sango's mouth dropped open and the baseball fell to the floor to land on her foot. Sango winced and bit her lip. "Ow…" she whimpered. Then she looked at Kagome. "His half brother?! You have got to be kidding me."

"I'm not! He came to dinner last night! Imagine my surprise at seeing him walk through the door after I hadn't seen him for almost two years! And there I am with his brother!" Kagome said, stuffing her hair dryer into her suitcase. "And then I found out that I was staying with their parents for spring break because Sesshoumaru told his parents I was. Guess who else is staying there for spring break?"

"Inuyasha?" Sango guessed.

"Bingo! I mean, can you imagine a more awkward situation?! I certainly can't," Kagome said, her words gaining speed as she started to sound panicky.

"This is great!" Sango exclaimed. Then she shot her hand into the air, crying triumphantly, "High school love reunited! Love conquers all! Hell yeah!"

"No! This isn't great Sango! This is madness! This is torture!" Kagome corrected. "Hello, remember Sesshoumaru, his half brother. I'm going out with him remember? And to make things worse, Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha absolutely hate each other! Luckily, Sesshoumaru doesn't know that Inuyasha's my ex-boyfriend. I told him I didn't know him."

"Well do you still have feelings for Inuyasha?" Sango asked, hopping onto her bed and laying on her stomach as she watched Kagome hurry around.

"No! At least…I don't think so…" Kagome answered uncertainly. And then she answered more firmly. "No."

"Well see? What's the problem then? You don't have feelings for him so it really shouldn't matter," Sango declared.

"It shouldn't but it does! I mean me and Sesshoumaru will be…there and he'll be…there and…it'll just be awkward okay? You will visit me though, won't you?" Kagome asked hopefully, grabbing her art supplies and her art portfolio. Moriko had asked to see some of Kagome's art so she had decided to bring her portfolio.

"Of course I will! Besides, I want to see who this Inuyasha person is. You've only mentioned him twelve gazillion times in the one year I've known you," Sango said and Kagome threw a pillow at her face.

"Here's your room dear," Moriko told Kagome kindly, opening the door to a room. Kagome peeked inside to see deep red drapes with a gold gauze balance above the window. The blankets were the same gold and deep red color and a red rug lay on the floor beside the bed. A desk sat in the corner beside a walk-in closet. 

"Thanks, it's great," Kagome said, smiling as she set her suitcase on the bed. When Moriko had left, Kagome sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "Well, this isn't so bad. Not nearly as awkward as I thought it would be." 

Oh but Kagome was wrong…so wrong. It was just about to go from awkward to downright unbearable. 

Kagome yawned as she rolled out of bed. Her legs were still numb with sleep so she tumbled to the floor when she tried to stand.

"Ow…" she mumbled, pushing herself up off the ground to stand and make her way slowly to the bathroom to clean herself up. "Sorry…" she mumbled when she ran into someone in the door of the bathroom. She glanced up to see Inuyasha, looking just as disheveled and drowsy as she did. 

He grunted in response and tried to make his way past her and into the bathroom just as she stepped forward.

"Haven't you ever heard of ladies first?" Kagome mumbled lazily, her eyes still half closed.

Inuyasha growled. "I don't give a damn. I need to get into the bathroom."

Then Sesshoumaru walked down the hall behind them. "Ladies first,_ dear brother_," Sesshoumaru said sternly, sneering on the word 'dear.'

Inuyasha gave Sesshoumaru a little shove. "Bastard…Too damn cheerful in the morning…Fuck off…"

"Watch your language. There's a female here in case you didn't notice," Sesshoumaru rebuked lightly, giving Inuyasha a little shove back.

"Nothing she hasn't heard before…" Inuyasha muttered, shoving Sesshoumaru again. Then he turned towards the bathroom once more to find that Kagome had snuck into the bathroom while they were arguing. Inuyasha cursed fluently, kicking at the door weakly with his foot, which was still heavy with sleep. When he heard the sound of a shower being turned on, he turned around and leaned his back against the door, sliding down to sit on the floor with his back against the door. He sat there, grumbling until he fell asleep, leaning against the door there in the hall. 

Half an hour later, the door opened behind him and he fell backwards into the bathroom.

Inuyasha looked up at Kagome, dressed and clean with her wet hair falling over her shoulder, who was grinning down at him. Drops of water fell from her hair to land on his face. 

"Good morning!" she said cheerfully. She heard him mumble something like 'nothing fucking good about it' as she stepped over him and went back into her room. 

 Another half hour later, the family, and Kagome sat at the table eating breakfast. It was unusually and uncomfortably quiet at the table. Moriko tried to start conversations several times but no one seemed to be in a mood to talk. Sesshoumaru seemed to be thinking about something and Inuyasha still looked half asleep.

When the family was done eating breakfast, Sesshoumaru stood and cleared his throat loudly and pointedly. Once he was sure he had everyone's attention, he turned Kagome's chair around so that she was facing him and kneeled down in front of her. Kagome's eyes widened and her heart sped up in panic and nervousness. 

Sesshoumaru smiled and reached into his pocket pulling out a small box and causing Kagome's nerves to go haywire. She could feel her brain starting to panic and shut down while she tried to keep it functioning so that she could at least think the situation through. Her brain had other ideas though and it shut down entirely, leaving her utterly defenseless and senseless.

Sesshoumaru opened the box to confirm Kagome's fears. There was a ring inside. 

_'Think, think, think!!!' _Kagome commanded herself but her brain refused to start up again and her nerves were still on hyper drive and in a total frenzy.

"Kagome Higurashi, will you marry me?" Sesshoumaru asked, giving her that charming smile.

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A/N-I know I know but I couldn't help myself! I had to do it! The toaster made me! The toaster made me! Besides, I know how much you all love cliffhangers ^.~ I couldn't help myself though. Now…like I said: no time for review responses. Gomen nasai but I don't. Must work on projects…grade depends on them…must get back to them now…


	4. IV: Smile and Maybe They Won't Notice

A/N-Heh heh…I see I really got some readers mad with the last chapter ^.^ Anyway, despite everything that has happened in the last chapter and all that shall happen in this chapter, it is still fully an Inuyasha/Kagome fic all the way. Boy oh boy, some people are going to be real mad at me for this chapter ^.^ Please don't kill the author or I'll never get to the Inuyasha/Kagome part. 

Disclaimer-I do not own the Inuyasha characters. Just borrowing them. Don't sue or I shall smite thee senseless.

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**Old Feelings Die Hard**

**Chapter IV**

Kagome closed her eyes, desperately trying to gather her wits and senses about her and then thought that perhaps this wasn't happening at all. She opened her eyes and what do you know? Sesshoumaru was still there, holding a ring out in front of her as he kneeled. Kagome glanced around the table to see Inutaisho and Moriko surprised but positively beaming nonetheless. She glanced over at Inuyasha, whose face was unreadable as he absently twirled a fork between his fingers, staring intently at it.

Kagome turned back to Sesshoumaru to find him growing rather impatient.

_'Think! Stop and think about it first! Stop and think! You're not ready for this!'_ Kagome berated herself but she obviously didn't hear herself.

"Yes?" Kagome answered uncertainly, though it seemed to be a good enough answer for Sesshoumaru, who smiled and slipped the ring on her finger, and then stood to kiss her.

_'Idiot!' _her brain shouted as it began to function again.

"I'm going to have a daughter in law!" Moriko declared excitedly. Then she began chattering about the wedding but Kagome wasn't listening. She couldn't hear anything. She was still in dazed shock. She looked over at Inuyasha to find him gone.

'Sesshoumaru, that bastard!' Inuyasha seethed as he got into his car. What right did he have to go and-Inuyasha blinked. She was his girlfriend. Maybe that gave him the right to ask Kagome to marry him. Yes, that certainly gave him the right.

And Kagome! That-Inuyasha blinked again. It wasn't like she could wait for him forever after all. She had done the sensible thing by moving on he guessed. 

But what about now?! He was here now wasn't he?! What, was she just going to forget he existed?! Inuyasha blinked. Well, actually, now that she was with Sesshoumaru, that would be the smart thing to do.

Inuyasha smacked the steering wheel in frustration. What was he so angry for?! He and Kagome were over and had been for a long time now! "Over damn it! Over!" he shouted as if just to reassure himself. "This is a nightmare…" he muttered.

Kagome sighed, looking down at her feet as the large wooden swing swung back and forth slowly. She had a little bit of time to herself now since Sesshoumaru had gone to his father's office (they had said something about remodeling Inutaisho's office) and Moriko was out grocery shopping. Kagome hadn't seen Inuyasha since breakfast. 

She scowled down at her feet.

_'Baka!'_ Kagome shouted silently to herself over and over again. _'You shouldn't have said yes! You're not ready to get married! And you've dated him for a year and a half and he's still a complete stranger!' _

Well, she could at least hope that living with him and his family might let her get to know him better but what if she didn't like him when she got to know him?!

Kagome smacked herself on the forehead a few times as if that would help the neutrons in her brain wake up.

"Is that gesture of happiness or what?" 

Kagome looked up to see Inuyasha standing in front of her and she shrugged, looking away. "I guess so…"

He sat down on the swing beside her and they sat in silence a few moments.

"Marrying Sesshoumaru eh? Heh, good luck with that," Inuyasha muttered, looking off towards the house.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kagome demanded sharply.

Inuyasha shrugged. "He's boring."

Kagome had to admit that he wasn't exactly the most interesting or exciting person at times but he was still a nice guy and he cared for her and he was smart and he was reliable and he was trustworthy and…

_'Sounds like I'm talking about a dog…'_ Kagome thought to herself, frowning. Then she glanced around the backyard and grinned when she saw a hill covered in soft-looking green grass. She hopped off the swing and ran to the top of the hill. Inuyasha got up and stood at the bottom of the hill curiously.

"What are you…?" he began to ask but then chuckled and shook his head when he saw her lay on the grass and roll down the hill. He stopped chuckling and tried to move out of the way though when he saw that she was rolling right towards him. He wasn't fast enough and she rolled into his legs, knocking him down.

"Oof!" Kagome muttered when he landed on top of her. They rolled a few more feet and finally stopped, Inuyasha on top of Kagome, his head resting in the curve of her neck.

Kagome inhaled sharply as her heart started to beat faster and her stomach felt like it was doing strange little flip-flops. 

_'Must have been something I ate…' _Kagome thought reasonably to explain the funny feeling in her stomach. _'And running up the hill and then rolling up it must have been some workout,'_ she thought in explanation of the increased speed of her heartbeat.

He rolled off of her and chuckled. "You still roll down hills?"

"Y-yes," Kagome tried to answer calmly but her voice still squeaked slightly.

He rolled onto his side to face her, propping his head up on his elbows as he pulled up bits of grass. "Do you love him?"

"Yes…no…No, I mean yes. I mean no. No, I mean yes…" Kagome stuttered, caught off-guard by the straightforward question. "No…wait, I mean no yes…I mean…" Finally she sighed, deciding to give up on the question since she really couldn't answer it…yet anyway. In the uncomfortable silence that followed, Kagome quickly racked her brain for something they could talk about. Then she grinned. "So, graphic arts and animation eh? Since when were you interested in art?" she asked, poking him in the side.

Inuyasha shrugged. "You always liked art and after I moved away, I decided to try it out and turns out, I really enjoyed it, so…" he said trailing off and shrugging again as he pulled out another blade of grass. "And since I moved…I was kinda feeling bad and it sorta reminded me of you…"

Kagome gulped, finding it suddenly hard to swallow. Then she laughed nervously. "You should show me some of your work," she told him, trying to pretend she didn't hear the last part he said.

Inuyasha pushed himself to his feet, brushing the grass off his slightly baggy black jeans. "Maybe if you're lucky," he called over his shoulder as he walked back into the house.

Kagome raised her head slightly, watching him until he went back inside and then flopped back down in the grass.

"This is a nightmare," Kagome sighed.

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A/N-Oh gods, please don't be mad!! *Dodges pointy objects being thrown at her* It's still Inuyasha/Kagome all the way! Well not all the way, there's some Sesshoumaru/Kagome but it's still and Inuyasha/Kagome story! I promise! This is just like…plot twist! Yes, plot twist. Besides, it keeps the story interesting ne? ^.^

Thank you's: 

Nite-I know, whatta bastard ne?

Hitomi-Please don't be angry!! ***Ducks and covers head***

Lady Meike-Please don't be angry!! ***Ducks and covers again*** It is still and Inuyasha/Kagome fic. This just makes it more interesting, you know? ^.^ Sorry I made you hyperventilate.

Kagome-Inuyasha-Everyone hates cliffhangers except the people writing them ^.~ 

Neptune Princess-Wow, people are begging already! I updated! Hope you liked ^.^

tenshineko-Nope, not a morning person at all. And indeed, it would be VERY awkward. Sesshoumaru will get over it ^.^ I think…Maybe I'll just kill him off and solve everything. Just kidding of course ^.^

animecrazy-I know!! Aren't I totally evil?! And no worries, it is still and Inuyasha/Kagome fic.

Sierra-I know, I'm evil. ***Bows head sadly***

Celtic*Kokoro*Knight-I know, I'm extremely evil. Gomen, I just can't help it!!

Jessica-I think I fixed chapter one…or maybe I didn't…Curses on my memory. Oh well, in one author's note I said that  I was changing it. I think that was in the author's note for chapter two. I don't really remember. I'll check right after I update. Drunk guys named Tim are very strange indeed, and ones named Bob. 

Shinta Himura- SHINTA! Aww, he's so kawaii! He's like…this mini-Kenshin! Well…he is mini-Kenshin, not like a mini-Kenshin. Seen Samurai X? That is such a cool OVA series. I loved it more than the actual series. She'll say yes ^.^

Setnyo-Here's more! And more soon after this too ^.^

Snooptopian-Wow, I'm a queen?! Sweet! Oh, and no offense taken. I want to be a Druid! ^.^

hera goddess-It will be K/I, I promise. ^.^ Kikyo should die. She really should.

sleep walking chicken and HAP-It is funny if it's not you. But, since it's not me, it's pretty funny ^.^

Princess Sapphire-…TOASTER! Ahhh! ***Runs around in squares*** O.O Please not the toaster!!

animegirl55-The suspense won't be killing you anymore ^.^ Hoorah, I don't like it when my reader's die. It's not good.

CrissyKitty-Help you choose pairings? INU/KAG, INU/KAG, INU/KAG, INU/KAG, INU/KAG, INU/KAG!! Err…right, but if you prefer Sess/Kag then go for it ^.^

Sis o' Hiei-She's not gonna marry him, no worries ^.^

AnimeGirl- O.O ***Pokes AnimeGirl*** Are you dead? I hope not…

silverstarlight-Indeed, hopefully not boring at all ^.^

Hanamaru285-wOOt! I continued! Cheer with me! ***Cheers***

Kosaten-I updated! ***Does happy dance***

ForestKarma-Don't compliment my writing abilities too much. My ego is very evil. Ego - (I'M THE QUEEN OF THE UNIVERSE! WOOT WOOT!)

Full Moon-San-Oh, gomen, I did get into Inuyasha's head AFTER the event but not during. After's still good right? Hope so.

Wow, that was a lot of reviews to answer ***Does happy dance***  Now review again and make me answer a lot next time. If you want to get revenge for the evil cliffie, leave lots of reviews so I'll have A LOT to answer next time ^.^ (That's right…no one will suspect you have an ulterior motive other than letting them get their revenge…very clever and cunning indeed…)


	5. V: Sorry, Right Number

A/N-New chapter! Splerk…It's a sad, sad thing when you can't find a freakin' floppy disk. But no worries, I finally found one ^.^ 

Disclaimer-(Insert interesting and witty disclaimer here)

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**Old Feelings Die Hard**

**Chapter 5**

"This is gorgeous work dear!" Moriko exclaimed, looking through Kagome's art portfolio later that afternoon. There were pictures in charcoal, watercolor, acrylics, oil, and some were sketches. Kagome had always liked to use to everything and not just limit herself to one medium.

"Oh…thanks," Kagome mumbled, blushing slightly, standing behind Moriko and looking over her shoulder as Moriko examined the pieces.

She suddenly saw Inuyasha's head right beside hers as he looked over her shoulder to look over his mother's shoulder. Kagome's breath caught in her throat, her brain screaming, 'Too close! Too close! Back away!'

"Why…that looks like…" Moriko murmured as her gaze fell on a certain sketch in pencil towards the bottom of the portfolio. 

Kagome glanced back down and flushed bright scarlet, dashing around to grab the sketch and hide it behind her back. She laughed nervously, her cheeks on fire. "You don't want to see this one. I did it a long, long time ago and it's not exactly my best piece of work you see," she explained hurriedly, laughing nervously some more. 

The sketch she had grabbed was a sketch she had done of Inuyasha when she had first seen him. He had been lounging lazily in one of the cafeteria chairs, slouching in the chair, his legs spread and his arms crossed. He had had a slight scowl as if he was angry at something. Kagome had spotted him in that position and had sketched it without his knowledge. She hadn't even told him about it when they were dating. She had completely forgotten it was in there until Moriko had spotted it. 

Moriko shrugged and looked through the other pieces of art in the portfolio but Kagome could feel Inuyasha's gaze on her and her cheeks grew even redder. It took all of her willpower not to look at him but she managed and the tension dissipated from her shoulders when she felt his gaze move away and she exhaled, realizing that she had been holding her breath.

When Moriko was done looking through her portfolio, Kagome slipped the sketch back in (it was one of her favorites and she wanted to keep it in there) and took it back her room.

Kagome thought for a moment, waiting for the heat in her cheeks to die down. Then she reached for the phone.

"Hello?" Sango answered.

"Hey, it's me," Kagome said.

"Me who?" Sango asked and Kagome sweatdropped. Sango laughed. "I'm just kidding. What's up? Tension driving you insane already?"

Kagome sighed, flopping down on her bed. "You have no idea. You wanna come for dinner? Moriko already said it was alright if I invited a friend."

"You bet! I wanna see who this Inuyasha guy is," Sango said excitedly.

Kagome gave Sango directions to the house and then hung up the phone, looking up at the ceiling. When she heard the doorbell ring, Kagome stood up and walked to the window curiously. It couldn't have been Sango already! 

Kagome saw a black sports car parked in the driveway and finally walked out into the hall towards the door, her curiosity getting the better of her. She stepped around the corner to see Inuyasha opening the door for a young man with dark brown hair pulled into a short ponytail at the back of his head. 

Inuyasha said something that Kagome couldn't catch and the young man laughed, hitting Inuyasha on the shoulder. Then the young man spotted Kagome and stepped around Inuyasha to grab her hand.

"Why hello fair maiden. How-" he said, leaning over her hand to kiss it. Then he jumped back in surprise, dropping her hand. "So sorry. Didn't realize you were taken!"

Kagome glanced at him questioningly, wondering how he knew and Inuyasha snorted, seeing her confusion and nodded towards her hand. Confused, Kagome looked down at her hand and saw the engagement ring.

"Oh that…" Kagome mumbled, blushing slightly. She had completely forgotten about that. Then she realized that she had forgotten to tell Sango. She'd have to tell her so she wouldn't go into shock at dinner that night.

The young man looked from Inuyasha to Kagome and cleared his throat pointedly.

"Oh, Kagome, this is Miroku. Miroku, Kagome," Inuyasha introduced gruffly.

Miroku grinned. "So this is Kagome eh? I was wondering when I'd get a chance to finally meet you."

Kagome blushed and glanced over at Inuyasha, who seemed pretty interested in a picture hanging on the wall. "Uhh…nice to meet you too," Kagome answered.

"So when's the wedding guys? I'm the best man right?" Miroku asked Inuyasha, thinking that the engagement ring on Kagome's hand was from Inuyasha, and Kagome flushed a brighter scarlet. Kagome noticed, with some satisfaction that Inuyasha was flushing a brilliant shade of red as well. At least she knew she wasn't taking all of the embarrassment herself. So he did have his little moments even if he did seem calm and cool any other time.

"I'm not the best man?! I'm insulted!" Miroku declared dramatically, misinterpreting the awkward silence.

"Whether or not you're the best man sorta depends on what Sesshoumaru wants," Inuyasha muttered.

Miroku knit his brow in confusion, pointing from Inuyasha to Kagome, to random spots on the ceiling as he tried to piece this all together. "But…isn't that Kagome? But…Sesshoumaru's your brother. I thought you said-"

Inuyasha whacked Miroku on the head, cutting off his words. "Doesn't matter what I said."

Kagome waited for Miroku to say more since she was very curious as to what Inuyasha had said but Miroku shut up. She sighed and walked back into her room to hear whispering behind her. Grabbing the phone, she dialed the phone number to her dormitory.

"Yeah?" Sango answered.

"Uhhh…I kinda forgot to tell you something…" Kagome began.

"What?" Sango asked, sensing Kagome's discomfit.

"Well…Sesshoumaru kinda…askedmetomarryhimandIsaidyes…" Kagome mumbled, about to hang up the phone when Sango asked her to please repeat that.

Kagome sighed. Sango would find out soon enough anyway. "Sesshoumaru asked me to marry him and I sorta…said yes," Kagome explained clearly this time.

"YOU DID WHAT?!" Sango cried, making Kagome wince and hold the phone away from her ear. Then Kagome heard Sango take deep breaths (something she had learned from a magazine to control anger) and then say calmly, "Well, okay. I'm happy for you! So did you really want to say yes or did you just fold under the pressure?"

"Uhh…I dunno," Kagome answered honestly. "To tell you the truth, I really wasn't thinking when I answered and now I don't know if I regret it or not. I think I do because I'm really not ready."

"Is it that you're not ready or that your feelings for your high school sweetheart are reawakening?" Sango teased dramatically.

Kagome snorted, though just maybe Sango's guess wasn't too far off. "Yeah right. Sango, listen carefully. You-have-issues."

" 'Issues?' Me? Hah! That's funny Kagome," Sango laughed.

"Issues!" Kagome repeated and then started to hang up when the phone was suddenly pulled from her hand. Kagome turned to see Miroku and Inuyasha, Inuyasha looking like he was going to hit Miroku again.

"Hello fair lady," Miroku greeted Sango cheerfully.

"Uhhh…hi?" Sango answered, wondering what had happened to Kagome.

"I would be greatly honored if a fair maiden such as yourself would do me the favor of bearing my child," Miroku told her.

Kagome could hear the, '_WHAT?!'_ Sango shouted from her place on the bed.

Inuyasha laughed, shaking his head. "You idiot…When are you gonna get some new pick-up lines? That one just isn't working for you."

Miroku handed the phone back to Kagome and turned to Inuyasha. "Oh, so you got better ones?"

Inuyasha smirked. "Of course."

"Let's hear them then. We can try em on her and see which one's better," Miroku said, turning towards Kagome excitedly. He knelt down and took one of Kagome's hands, once again asking her, "Will you bear my child?"

Kagome slapped him. The only appropriate thing she could think of to do at the moment.

"Oh yeah, she's absolutely melting," Inuyasha said sarcastically. Gentling pushing Miroku aside, he said, "Now, watch and learn." Then he slipped his arms around Kagome's waist and her heart started beating faster and her stomach did the strange little flips at his close proximity.

Inuyasha grinned and Kagome knew he was going to use one that he knew was lame. "Your feet must be really tired since you've been running through my mind all day long."

The strange feelings in her stomach disappeared quickly to be replaced by complete comfort and Kagome burst into laughter. "That's the best you got? Well you lose, try again."

Inuyasha thought for a moment and then asked, "Where have you been all my life?"

"I don't know, but I should've stayed there," Kagome answered, grinning.

"Oh!" Miroku said, laughing. "Shot down!"

Inuyasha grinned. "If I saw you naked, I'd die happy."

"And if I saw you naked, I'd die laughing," Kagome replied.

"Strike two!" Miroku declared.

"I lost my phone number. Can I have yours?" Inuyasha asked.

"Yeah, it's 1-800-YOU-WISH," Kagome told him. "You want me to write it down for you?"

"Crash and burn!" Miroku shouted, making an explosion noise.

Inuyasha threw his hands into the air, sitting in the chair at the desk. "Alright, time to bring out the heavy artillery," he said, lacing his fingers together behind his head. "Did it hurt?"

"Did what hurt?" Kagome asked.

"When you fell from heaven."

Kagome rolled her eyes. "Is that the best you've got? I must've heard that one dozens of times! At least-Oh no…" she said, her eyes widening. "I forgot to tell my parents! Oh no, this is going to be hell to explain!" Kagome groaned, smacking herself on the forehead with the heel of her hand. "Hey, would you guys mind giving me a few minutes to call my parents?"

Inuyasha shrugged, his expression carefully indifferent, standing up and walking out of the room, Miroku following.

Kagome dialed her parents' phone number with trembling fingers. How was she supposed to explain this?! What a mess she got herself into…

Kagome held the phone to her ear, biting her lip nervously and tapping her fingers on the wooden surface of the desk. And it wasn't like she and her family were on great speaking terms. Kagome was still angry with her family for all her miserable years of being compared to Kikyo. When she moved into the dormitories near the college, she had called her parents once, and had called Kikyo never. And now she was suddenly dropping a line only to spoon the fact that she was engaged onto their plates. It promised to be some joyful parent-daughter reunion.

"Hello?" her mother's voice spoke in the phone.

Kagome's eyes widened and she panicked. "Sorry! Right number!" Then she hung up. Then she smacked herself on the forehead with the heel of her hand again. "BAKA!" Picking up the phone again, she redialed the number, taking deep steady breaths to regain her courage and composure.

"Hello?" her mother answered again.

"Uhm…hi mom!" Kagome greeted, in what she hoped was a cheerful voice. "I'm at Sesshoumaru's parents' home for the break."

"That's great dear! He's such a nice fellow, a bit lackluster but perfectly stable, yes indeed! I haven't heard from you in so long dear! Kikyo calls just about every day! How have you been love?"

Kagome pressed her lips together. Again with the Kikyo thing. As if she needed to be reminded of her faultless sister at the moment. 

"I've been fine, just a little busy or I would've called sooner." That was a lie. "H-how have you and dad been?"

"We've been just fine love, no need to worry about us. College is going good for you?"

"Uhm, yes, I'm doing really well actually," Kagome answered. That was the truth; she was doing really well. All of her professors said she had great potential.

The door opened and Moriko poked her head into the room. "Oh dear, is that your parents on the phone?"

"Uhm, yes," Kaogme answered, covering the receiver of the phone.

"Well invite them over for dinner to celebrate! About time we met them yes?" Moriko insisted as she shut the door again.

Speaking into the phone again, Kagome asked her mother, "Moriko suggests you and dad come over for dinner."

"Why that sounds great dear!" Kaede answered delightedly.

"Oh yeah, and I'm engaged mom!" Kagome announced while her mother was in an excited mood.

There was no sound on the other end of the line. "Mom?" Kagome asked tentatively. "Mom? Are you there?"

Suddenly her dad's voice came on the line. "Your mother froze all of a sudden. What'd you say to her?"

Kagome just laughed nervously. 

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**A/N-Yay! So did you like? I did ^.^ So what happens when her parents come for dinner? In case you don't remember, Kagome's parents will recognize Inuyasha whereas Inuyasha's parents, except for his dad, doesn't recognize Kagome to be Inuyasha's ex-girlfriend. Inuyasha was living with his dad during high school until he moved in with his step dad and mother and his stepbrother, Sesshoumaru. Confusing, I know ^.^;; So this is going to get awkward, unless I insert an evil plot twist in which Kagome and Inuyasha argue…a lot. You'll just hafta wait to see what happens. You all know the drill, review and make me happy ^.^**

Review Responses:

Onnie: They're stepbrothers. Did I accidentally call them half brothers again somewhere in that chapter or did I just not fix the first chapter yet? I can't remember if I ever edited the first chapter or not…I guess I'll have to check that but they're stepbrothers. Sorry for the confusion. Glad you like it despite the confusion ^.^ I hope that clears it up too.

Farren: Well, it's hardly finished but here's a new chapter! That's something right? ^.^

Anti [.] Poptarts: OMG! That is so a poptart! That is so cool! Wai! That's awesome! Anywho, I did indeed update. It will be Inuyasha/Kagome, I promise. I'll even pinky swear.

Snooptopian: Were you still pressing refresh when this chapter showed up? O.o? That's a lot of refreshing. We rule the cliffhanger world! Although no cliffhanger this chapter.

Lisi Naiku: No, but he'll get suspicious and-well I can't tell you the rest. ^.^ And we all have a demented humor at some point or other.

Dreamweaver: I actually don't have an update list, whatever that is. But I can shout really loudly that I updated so you can hear I updated wherever you live ^.^ What is an update list anyway? Just a list of people to email when you update or what?

XCori: Wow, I feel honored! ^.^ 

Fat Cat Buyo: Very awkward indeed. Hope I'm never in that position though I doubt I ever will be since the situation is bordering soap opera material and lives usually aren't soap operas. O.o 

Animecrazy: Everyone has an evil side. Some people are just really good at hiding it…like me ***smiles innocently***

Sesshomaru lover: I updated….finally -.-'

Celtic*Lady*Knight: She just went and dug herself a hole the size of the Grand Canyon, indeed she has. Honestly, I have no idea how she'll get out of this one because I haven't really decided on what'll happen yet. ^.^;;

Animegirl55: I dunno if I updated sooner than last time or not. I don't remember how long it's been since I updated and I don't remember how long it was when I updated before that either. I just sporadically post stories. I burn any schedules.

Jessie K-I: Oh yeah, I would hate to be Kagome: two guys arguing over her and both extremely sexy…***drools*** Oops…did I say that out loud? ***Whispers*** Inuyasha's sexier! ***runs around in circles, cackling like mad***


	6. VI: And That's Just the Good News Mom

A/N-New chapter! wOOt! This would've been up sooner if I hadn't been camping out in the middle of nowhere where it was really really really hot. This Wednesday is my driver's ed final too. O.O I better study for that. 

Disclaimer-I disclaim anything in this story except the plot. I get to claim that.

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**Old Feelings Die Hard**

**Chapter VI**

"Uhm…well I was just telling her that I uhh…" Kagome began to explain to her father when Kagome's mother got back on the phone.

Kaede cleared her throat and then said, "Sorry, what dear?"

"Uhh…well I'm-I'm engaged-" Kagome stuttered.

"Really?" Kaede asked, her voice surprisingly calm.

"Uhm, yes I-I am. To Inuyasha mom," Kagome said, and then smacked herself on the forehead with the heel of her hand. "I mean Sesshoumaru! Damn!"

Kagome heard her mother clicking her tongue disapprovingly. "Tsk tsk, Kikyo never had such a dirty mouth."

Kagome growled slightly. "Yeah well guess what mom? I'm not Kikyo and I'm quite sure I never will be."

"We'll be over in a few minutes honey," her mother told her, ignoring her last comment. "See you soon." 

Kagome flopped back upon her bed after she had hung up the phone. "Kagome, have I ever told me how stupid I am?" 

In another half an hour, the doorbell rang and Kagome sprang to her feet and rushed down the hall, flinging the front door open. Inuyasha and Miroku curiously followed her, having heard the doorbell ring.

"Sango-chan!" Kagome exclaimed excitedly.

"Hiya Kagome," Sango greeted cheerfully. "Geez, get a grip. You just saw me yesterday," Sango told her, grinning as she poked Kagome in the side.

Miroku took this moment to move forward and grab Sango's hand. "Your feet must be tired since you've been running through my mind all day long," Miroku said.

"Hey! That's mine!" Inuyasha protested, grinning. "You can't go stealing my pick-up lines like that!"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Miroku sniffed. "It's completely original!"

Kagome turned back towards Sango, expecting her to be absolutely furious but found her blushing slightly instead. Kagome grinned. This could get interesting…

Sango pointedly glanced down at Miroku and then over at Inuyasha.

"Oh!" Kagome exclaimed. "That's Miroku," she said, pointing to the guy kneeling down in front of her and then nodded her head towards Inuyasha. "And that's Inuyasha. This is Sango." 

"Is that a mirror in your pocket? I can see myself in your pants," Miroku told Sango and she slapped him.

"Hey! That's mine too!" Inuyasha protested, but then seeing Sango slap Miroku, he quickly said, "But no worries, you can have it Miroku."

Kagome rolled her eyes, turning to Sango again. "Don't mind them. We were sharing some pretty lame pick-up lines before you got here."

Sango and Kagome chattered excitedly down the hall and Inuyasha and Miroku heard a door shut.

"Feh…women," Inuyasha muttered, walking into his own room, Miroku following close behind.

"So that was Kagome eh?" Miroku asked, shutting the door behind him.

Inuyasha picked up a baseball that was sitting on his desk and sat in the chair with his feet on the desktop, tossing the ball into the air and catching it again. Inuyasha grunted in response.

"So what's she doing marrying your brother?" Miroku asked. "I thought you said you hadn't seen her for two years."

"I hadn't. I didn't know that she was Sesshoumaru's girlfriend and she didn't know I was his brother. She came with Sesshoumaru last night to dinner and she's staying over spring break. He asked her to marry him and…" Inuyasha explained, shrugging, figuring Miroku knew the rest.

"I thought you said you loved her," Miroku recalled, pulling out a magazine and flipping through it as he sat on the edge of the desk.

"I do," Inuyasha answered absently.

"You do?" Miroku asked, surprised.

"No, I _did_," Inuyasha corrected, not realizing he had indeed said 'do.'

"You said _do_," Miroku told him, grinning.

"I said _did_," Inuyasha argued. "I should know what I said. I said it after all."

Miroku shook his head, chuckling to himself. "Alriiiight…"

Inuyasha took his feet off the desk and looked at Miroku defiantly. "What? You don't believe me, do you?"

Miroku shook his head. "Not for a minute."

"Feh…I really don't care if you believe me or not," Inuyasha muttered, putting his feet back up on the desk and leaning back in the chair.

"Hey, isn't this her?" Miroku called from the other side of the room. 

Inuyasha glanced up to see Miroku looking at his art portfolio. Miroku was looking at a sketch Inuyasha had drawn of Kagome before they dated. The baseball, which Inuyasha had thrown into the air, hit his head and, after cursing colorfully and rubbing his head, Inuyasha jumped up, grabbing the portfolio.

"No it's not," Inuyasha told him, setting the portfolio on the desk.

"Yes it was."

"No it wasn't."

"Yes it was."

"This is really immature," Inuyasha said. "It wasn't," he insisted firmly. "It was just some random person."

"Riiight…Some random person who looked a hell of a lot like Kagome? Coincidence? I think not," Miroku said. "Well fine then, let's look at it again. I didn't get a good look at it so I could be wrong. Just lemme check once more," Miroku requested reasonably, holding out his hand for the sketch.

Inuyasha grabbed that portfolio and held it behind his back. "I don't think you really need to see it again." Then Inuyasha stood and walked out of the room, taking the portfolio with him. As he was walking past Kagome's room, the door burst open and Kagome smacked right into Inuyasha.

"Ouch, sorry!" Kagome apologized quickly. Then she saw the large black folder in his hand. "Oh, your portfolio? Could I see?" she asked reaching for it but he pulled it away.

"No!" he said hurriedly, almost nervously and Kagome looked at him suspiciously. Then he smirked coolly. "I told you that you could see it if you're lucky. I can't just go around showing just anyone you know," he told her and then walked down the hall, heading for the stairs.

"Hey, I'm feeling lucky! Come on I wanna see!" Kagome said, following down the hall.

"No, I don't think you earned it yet," Inuyasha told her, feigning uncertainty. 

"I think I have! Come on! I had to put up with a half an hour of your lame pick-up lines didn't I?" Kagome said, trying to convince him.

"Just for that you don't get to see it," Inuyasha told her and Kagome expected him to stick his tongue out at her childishly.

"Did I say lame? I meant great and romantic. I was melting, couldn't you tell?" Kagome asked. "Oh come on, please? I said please!"

Miroku watched them walk down the hall and saw that Sango was watching them as well. Miroku grinned. "What's say you and me start a little project, eh?" Miroku asked Sango. Sango looked at him suspiciously but she grinned in understanding when he nodded towards Inuyasha and Kagome.

"You think we could pull it off?" Sango asked.

"Are you kidding me? We won't even have to do much. They're already almost there already," Miroku assured her and then they whispered back and forth to each other, forming a plan.

As Kagome was still pleading with Inuyasha to let her see his portfolio, she froze in her tracks. "Oh no!" she cried, smacking her forehead again. "They'll recognize you!" she told Inuyasha, who just frowned at her in confusion.

"Inuyasha, they'll recognize you!" Kagome repeated. 

"What the hell are you babbling about now?"

She listened closely for the sound of anyone in the house but Sesshoumaru, Moriko, and Inutaisho must have been outside so she said, "My parents! They're coming for dinner! They'll recognize you!"

Inuyasha shrugged indifferently. "So what?" he asked as he continued down the stairs.

"But then…but then Sesshoumaru and his parents'll know!"

Inuyasha shrugged again. "Bout time someone told them anyway."

"But-but it's already so awkward without having everyone know! Haven't you noticed that the tension is as thick as pea soup in this house?!" Kagome asked, following him down the stairs.

"You're just imagining the tension. I haven't noticed any."

"Oh gods, but you and Sesshoumaru argue so much already! I don't want you to argue more. And then…geez this is a nightmare."

"Me and Sesshoumaru would argue whether he knew or not."

"Couldn't you just like…you know…" Kagome began to ask.

"Couldn't I just what?" Inuyasha asked, his eyes narrowing suspiciously.

"You know, go out for dinner tonight?" Kagome asked hopefully.

Inuyasha just studied her for a moment and then continued down the stairs. "No."

"What? Why not?"

"Because it's my fucking house! I'm not going to leave just because you haven't told your parents."

"I'll tell them…sometime…just not tonight!"

"Is there some other reason maybe? It can't just be that you don't want things to be more awkward because in case you haven't noticed, things can't really get any more damn uncomfortable. What's one more to the pile eh? It'd probably even lift some of the discomfort as well since we won't have to run around trying to keep everything a damn secret! Well? Is there another reason? You embarrassed that you dated me eh? Do you think your precious fiancé will think lower of you since you dated me hmm?"

Kagome was taken aback for a moment. "N-no, that's not it at all! I just-" She just what? Kagome frowned, not really sure of why she didn't want them to know. She had thought that she didn't want things to become more awkward but he did have a point. Things were pretty awkward already even if Sesshoumaru, Moriko, and Inutaisho didn't notice it. Kagome and Inuyasha certainly did. But it would relieve her conscience a bit.

Inuyasha snorted. "That's what I figured. So sorry for being such a stain on your past."

Kagome glared, angry at him but also angry at herself for the tears that were starting to fall. "Inuyasha, this is all hard enough as it is! I just-can't you tell that-I couldn't-just-" Kagome stuttered. She couldn't think of how she was supposed to say what she was trying to say. How was she supposed to explain what she was feeling since she didn't even know? "Nevermind…I don't even know what I'm trying to say," Kagome mumbled, moving past him and walking down the rest of the stairs and into the kitchen.

Inuyasha stood frozen on the stairs. She had been crying. He hadn't meant to make her cry. He hated to see her cry, always had. "Oi, Miroku," Inuyasha called, only to see that Miroku and Sango were at the head of the stairs and had been listening to the entire conversation. Inuyasha wasn't even in the mood to be angry at them at the moment. "Let's go out to dinner."

Miroku nodded and followed Inuyasha out the door.

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A/N-Hmm, well there's the sixth chapter. And Kagome's obviously becoming confused about her feelings. Wah, can't wait to get to the Inuyasha and Kagome fluff. That's all coming soon ^.^


	7. VII: Things Could Have Been Worse

A/N: Oh, I love this chapter! Probably one of my favorites! Kagome and Inuyasha kiss after having a nice little conversation in the kitchen late at night. I love it even though the kissing stops when Kagome remembers Sesshoumaru. . I shoulda just made her forget him and have her and Inuyasha elope ^.^ Anywho, it's one of my faves and it's pretty fluffy so I'm damn proud of it since I can't write fluff at all (ask anyone, they'll back that). I had been feeling so depressed and not myself lately and this chapter cheered me right up so I hope you enjoy ^.^

Disclaimer: If I ever, by a stroke of good fortune, come to own the Inuyasha characters, you all will be the first to know, I promise.

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**Old Feelings Die Hard**

**Chapter VII**

Kagome's stomach sank as she heard the doorbell ring, knowing that that would be her parents. 

_'Gods, this was going to be so embarrassing! Please let them have forgotten Inuyasha or something,'_ Kagome prayed, _'though I can't see anyone ever forgetting someone like Inuyasha. I didn't after all. Well, if they haven't forgotten him, please gods, don't let them bring up the fact that they had walked in on us making out in the living room far more than once. Gods, that would make everything so much worse!'_

Then Kagome drew herself up determinedly. So what if she used to make out with Inuyasha in the living room? He was her boyfriend then so she had every right to. And if anyone said otherwise…well Kagome would just have to point out that he had been her boyfriend then. And if they asked why she didn't tell them to begin with…well then she'd just say that it didn't seem important. 

Kagome's shoulders slumped again. _'Gods! I can't just say that it didn't seem important with Inuyasha sitting right there! I'd hate that! He'd think he hadn't been important to me when he had meant the world to me. Geez, I can't just say it didn't seem important! Well…whatever happens, happens I guess…'_

With that thought, Kagome opened the door to the smiling faces of her mom and dad. They both took turns hugging their daughter and then Kagome invited them inside. No sooner had they stepped inside, Moriko and Inutaisho came to the door and greeted them.

"Mom, dad, you know Moriko and Inutaisho?" Kagome introduced. "Moriko, Inutaisho, you remember my parents? Kaede and Kakashi?"

"Of course we remember them dear," Moriko said, smiling warmly. Then she gestured for Kagome's parents to walk down the hall to the kitchen. "Come come, dinner's just about ready."

Sesshoumaru came down the hall and put an arm around Kagome's shoulders, giving her what she guessed was supposed to be a comforting smile, but only seemed emotionless.

_'Weird,'_ she thought absently, _'why didn't I ever notice how lifeless his eyes are?'_ She let him walk her into the kitchen and then they took their seats at the table. As soon as she was in the seat, she started to panic again. Any minute now, Inuyasha would walk in and her parents would greet him like he was their son, just as they had when she and Inuyasha had been dating and if her luck kept up the way it was going now, they'd share embarrassing stories about how they had had to stay away from the living room after one of her and Inuyasha's dates or they'd interrupt things.

Moriko set the food on the table and began to serve everyone and Inuyasha was still missing. Kagome noticed that Miroku was missing as well. Kagome leaned over to Sango and whispered, "Where's Inuyasha?"

Sango frowned at her. "You didn't know? He must not have told you. He and Miroku went out for dinner. They said they wouldn't be back for a few hours since they were going to a movie afterwards too."

Kagome felt all the tension in her shoulders dissipate and her heart soared with gratitude. So he did leave and she was incredibly grateful for it. _'Gods, he's great,'_ Kagome thought to herself. She wasn't ready to tell Sesshoumaru and his parents about her and Inuyasha just yet since she was feeling overwhelmed with the engagement enough as it was.

"Oh, Sango, I didn't know you were staying here as well," Kaede said cheerfully.

"Moriko and Inutaisho invited me over since Kagome was staying here and I'd be by myself in our dorm room," Sango answered politely.

"That's wonderful!"

For the rest of the dinner, Kagome's parents and Moriko and Inutaisho talked politely with each other and Kagome was relieved that the engagement didn't come up. But then they all moved to the sitting room where they had tea, and that was when the engagement and wedding plans were brought up. Moriko and Kaede were speaking about the wedding arrangements, trying to include Kagome, who didn't really feel like talking about it right now and instead talked to Sango, while Inutaisho, Kakashi, and Sesshoumaru discussed business and such. 

Kagome fervently prayed that the floor would open up right then and there as Moriko and Kaede discussed where to have the wedding, wedding dresses, flowers, and guest lists. Then she fervently prayed that lightning would strike her when her mother started crying hysterically as she hugged Kagome to death.

After two hours, Kaede and Kakashi finally announced that they should be getting home and Kagome breathed a sigh of relief inwardly. She wasn't really on good terms with her parents to begin with and having them talking about a wedding that she wasn't really sure she wanted was really beginning to make her feel stressed. Not to mention the fact that any minute, Inuyasha and Miroku could walk through the front door.

But then Kagome's parents were gone, the headlights on their car already disappearing around the corner and she felt exhausted. All she wanted to do was go upstairs and fall into her bed, which she did after changing into her pajamas, Sango coming up soon after her.

_'That could've gone much, much worse,'_ Kagome decided as she drifted off to sleep.

Kagome woke up when her stomach started growling. Glancing at the clock, she saw that it was one o'clock in the morning and she groaned, cursing her stomach. She couldn't blame it though, since at dinner, she had been too nervous and tense to do more than just nibble at her food. She kicked off her blankets and walked out of her room, careful not to step on Sango laying on her futon on the floor.

Reaching the end of the stairs, she saw that the kitchen light was on and she frowned, wondering who was still up at this ungodly hour. Poking her head barely into the room, she saw Inuyasha sitting at the table with his back to her, a piece of paper in front of him. He looked like he was drawing something and began to sneak up on him to try to see his work, but then changed her mind, deciding that he would show her his work when he was ready to.

Kagome quickly debated about what to do as she stood in the middle of the kitchen and she finally snuck back to the entrance of the kitchen and yawned loudly as she re-entered. Inuyasha glanced up and quickly shoved the drawing into black folder on the table.

"What are you doing up?" she asked him, feigning grogginess though she was wide-awake now.

Inuyasha shrugged, twirling his pen in his fingers as he leaned back in his chair. "Couldn't sleep. You?"

Kagome grinned sheepishly. "Hungry." She went to the refrigerator, Inuyasha studying her while she poked through the refrigerator. She was wearing a pair of black gym shorts (_'And they are short,'_ he thought absently) and a white tank top. She finally pulled out the leftover fruit salad from dinner and sat next to him at the table.

_'Gods she's still gorgeous,'_ he thought to himself, still watching her.

"Your portfolio?" she asked, nodding towards the black folder.

"No," Inuyasha replied shortly.

Kagome sighed, noticing that he seemed to be acting a bit cold with her. "Listen, Inuyasha, I'm sorry about what happened earlier. I really didn't mean for it to come out that way at all, you know that, right?"

Inuyasha nodded. "I probably just overreacted. I knew you didn't mean it like that so I don't know why I took it like that."

Kagome smiled. "And I wanted to thank you. It…meant a lot to me that you left even when I was making a mess of everything."

Inuyasha shrugged again. He had never liked to be thanked for things he did. He never really knew what to say. "It was nothing."

"You may have thought it was nothing but it meant a lot to me." Then Kagome grinned. "You want to know one of the main reasons I didn't want my parents to see you?" she asked, her eyes twinkling mischievously.

Inuyasha smiled. "What?"

"I thought they were going to whip out 'the stories.' The entire time from when I called my parents to come to dinner until the dinner, I could only hear my father," Kagome said, and then deepened her voice, trying to imitate her father, "'why I remember it like it was yesterday, yes sir-ree. We used to walk in on these two slobbering in my living room. Happened more than once too, to the point where we had to stay clear of the living room most of the time lest we interrupt things.'"

Inuyasha snorted, grinning. "He never said that."

"He did too, to my so-called sister," Kagome told him.

Inuyasha studied her. "Still don't like your sister too much, eh?"

"Hah, never did and never will," Kagome replied firmly.

Inuyasha looked up to the ceiling and then chuckled.

"What?" Kagome asked.

He glanced at her. "I should've stayed for dinner just so the whole family could enjoy your father's stories. I'm guessing he has more than one? I'm sure the family would have enjoyed it," he said, grinning wickedly.

_'Does he know how sexy that grin is?' _Kagome asked herself and answered her own question, _'probably.'_

"It would've been amusing just to see the looks on all of their faces," Kagome said giggling slightly. 

"Besides, don't tell me that you and Sesshoumaru never made out in your dormitory or anything," Inuyasha said, though the image of Sesshoumaru touching her like that disgusted and pained and angered him all at the same time.

"Err…" Kagome said, thinking. "Actually, we haven't done anything like that."

Inuyasha was so surprised that he nearly fell off his chair. He did drop his pen though. "What? And you're marrying the bastard? Lemme guess, Sesshoumaru didn't want to? Ice Queen I swear," Inuyasha muttered, though he was glad she and his brother hadn't done anything like that. It gave him an odd sort of satisfaction to know that he was the one of the two brothers she had done such intimate things with.

"Don't you mean Ice King or prince or something?"

Inuyasha smirked as he glanced at her. "No, no, the bastard's pretty girly if you haven't noticed."

"So have you talked to your dad recently?" Kagome asked, deciding that a change of subject was in order.

"Yeah, just yesterday."

"Is he okay? I always liked him," Kagome said, and she had liked Inuyasha's father. He was loose and fun, like Inuyasha, yet was serious when it came to being Inuyasha's father.

"He's doing good. I should've stayed with him during high school," Inuyasha muttered bitterly, scowling at the table. "Would've been able to stay in the same school, stayed with you, and I wouldn't have had to go through hell here."

"I think we both had hell after you left. I was left with my so-called parents and my so-called sister," Kagome said, stabbing at a grape with her fork. "Does Miroku have a girlfriend?" she asked suddenly and the question took him by surprise.

"Wha-? Well no, him being the pervert that he is? Not a chance," Inuyasha said, chuckling and shaking his head. "Why?"

"Well…he and Sango seemed to get along pretty well, or at least they were until he asked her to bear his child. Besides, if anyone can keep him in line, it's Sango," Kagome mused and then sat Indian style on the chair as she turned towards Inuyasha, a mischievous grin on her face and Inuyasha quickly looked away, seeing that he could look down her tank top since she was leaning forward and her shorts were riding up on her shapely legs.

"You know, I bet we could get them together," Kagome said confidently.

Inuyasha grinned as he looked intently at the wall (he figured he probably looked like a moron). "Think we could pull it off?"

"Are you kidding me? I know so, they're almost there already. They just need to be pushed, see?"

Inuyasha's grin widened as he still stared at the wall.

"You okay, Inuyasha?" Kagome asked, worry in her voice as she grabbed his chin and turned his face towards her.

_'Oh, shouldn't have done that…_' Inuyasha thought as his eyes softened when he looked at her.

_'So close…and his eyes are wonderful…so alive…'_ Kagome thought absently, her heart beating faster and her breathing becoming shallow at their close proximity. 

Afterwards, she couldn't remember who started what but she did know that soon Inuyasha's lips were on hers, his chin still in her fingers. He gently nipped at her lower lip and her lips reflexively parted. She moved her hands to splay her fingers on his chest, leaning forward, trying to get closer to him. His tongue slipped into her mouth and he slid his arms around her waist, pulling her from the chair she was sitting in and onto his lap so that she was straddling him, her legs on either side. He reached around her neck to weave his fingers in her soft black hair, pulling her head closer to his as he deepened the kiss and a wave of heat and light-headedness washed over her and she melted into his kiss. If she were standing, her legs would've given way beneath her because of the intense emotions he stirred within her. He made her absolutely and entirely breathless, just the way he had before. It was like fire and ice and wind all at once.

_'Gods he makes me feel so good. If only his brother could make me feel this way and then-' _Kagome thoughts cut off right there as her eyes shot open and widened. Sesshoumaru! _'I shouldn't be doing this!'_ Kagome pulled away from Inuyasha, disappointment obvious in his face. "We…we shouldn't be doing this," Kagome mumbled and then climbed off his lap as he disentangled his fingers from her hair and then she hurried back upstairs, thanking the gods that everyone else had been asleep.

Kagome noticed that she felt considerably colder the moment she climbed off of Inuyasha's lap but she ignored that and hurried as fast as she could up the stairs, quietly getting back into bed so as not to wake Sango. She couldn't sleep though and ended up staring at the dark ceiling. What had she been thinking? Kagome rubbed her face in frustration. That was her fiancé's brother for kami's sake! His brother! And his brother wasn't exactly nameless or faceless. It was Inuyasha, the guy she had loved in high school. And he still made her feel dizzy and breathless and wonderful. But now she loved Sesshoumaru, she was marrying him so she had to love him right? Suddenly she wasn't so sure. She felt like all of the feelings she had had for Inuyasha before were returning to her tenfold. Or maybe they had just never left?

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**A/N: **Grr…baka sister makes me angry. She's bothering me while I'm writing, chikuso. She won't do that again though ^.^ Not after seeing how I reacted this time. Anywho, like I said, one of my favorites. Erm…That's all I have to say, so review! **Review!**


	8. VIII: Things Not Said

**A/N:** I decided that I was going to update just one fic today and it seemed like everyone wanted to see this one updated the most, so I'm updating this one. Well, Do You Remember Me got more reviews for the last chapter but you all seemed to be dying to read the next chapter of this fic, so I chose to update this one. The others will be updated soon.

**Disclaimer: **I disclaim everything that isn't mine. Everything that's mine I get to claim.

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**Old Feelings Die Hard**

**Chapter VIII**

"Damn," Inuyasha muttered, pounding his fist on the table. _'Gods I still love her…' _

"That's it," Inuyasha said to himself decisively and firmly. He decided that his brother couldn't have her; Inuyasha wouldn't let him have her. Kagome was too good for his bastard of a brother. _'Hell,'_ Inuyasha thought, _'she's too good for me but she's especially too good for him. She needs someone to hold her and kiss her and sweep her off her feet and damned if I didn't just do that for her!'_ The way Inuyasha saw it, the gods had thrown him another chance and he would definitely take it! 

He had walked away from her once and he sure as hell wasn't about to do it again. Oh no, he was one to learn from his mistakes and never made the same one twice. He was going to get her back and keep her for good this time. 

Inuyasha really wasn't one to steal away other guys' girlfriends (though he could probably steal a hell of a lot of them if he tried, Inuyasha thought smugly) and he certainly wasn't one to take some guy's fiancé. He did have morals after all. If Sesshoumaru were engaged to anyone except Kagome, Inuyasha wouldn't have cared at all and would've stayed away since anyone marrying Sesshoumaru had to be insane, but the fact of the matter was that it _was _Kagome.  

"Wake up sunshine!" Sango cried happily, smashing her pillow into Kagome's face.

Kagome groaned and reluctantly opened her eyes. "Sango, can't you find a better way to wake me up?"

"Hmm…" Sango murmured thoughtfully and then grabbed the glass of water on the floor beside her futon, pouring it over Kagome's head. "Is that better?"

Kagome burst into laughter and sat up. "Much, thanks. I'm wide-awake now. You know what we should do tod-" Then she visibly paled and the smile dropped from her face as she remembered last night. "Oh gods…" Kagome mumbled, burying her face into her blankets.

Sango frowned in confusion. "Talk about major mood swings, what's wrong?" she asked in concern.

"I…I…" Kagome said, not really sure if she should tell her friend or not. Kagome sighed, deciding that Sango knew everything else that went on in her life so she might as well know this too. "Last night…I got hungry and so I went down to the kitchen."

Sango giggled. "That's not something to be so upset about! I mean-"

"I'm not done," Kagome said simply.

"Oh, well go on then."

"Well…Inuyasha…he was in the kitchen."

"Okay, but that's still not-" Sango began, but Kagome cut her off.

"Sango, I kissed him!"

Sango blinked at her. "Okay, go on then."

Kagome had to laugh at Sango. "No, that's it."

Sango nodded. "Do you regret it?"

"Of course I do! I mean…I'm engaged to Sesshoumaru and even if I don't really want to be at the moment, I would still be Sesshoumaru's girlfriend and I kissed his brother!"

"I think you're forgetting that Inuyasha is _not_ just Sesshoumaru's brother. From what I've heard, you loved him, Kagome and if I were to guess, I'd say that you don't feel nearly as strongly for Sesshoumaru, do you?"

Kagome sighed in frustration, burying her face in her hands. "I really don't know anymore. But why didn't Inuyasha ever visit me and why'd we lose touch? I was always waiting for him to come back for me. I waited and he never came, never called, never anything. I felt totally crushed! Stupid jerk."

"Yeah, but you didn't visit him or call him or anything either," Sango pointed out, and Kagome blinked into her hands, realizing that she really hadn't. Then Sango grinned slyly. "So?"

"So what?" Kagome mumbled. 

"So how was it!"

Kagome groaned. "Absolutely amazing. Gods, I feel so guilty, like I've broken some law or something!"

Sango grinned. "To the extent of my knowledge, there is no law against someone kissing their fiancé's brother…not yet anyway."

Kagome smiled.

Soon Kagome and Sango went down to the kitchen for breakfast and found most of the family already at the table, Inuyasha included. Kagome avoided looking at him and he noticed this as he inconspicuously watched her out of the corner of his eye. She quickly sat down next to Sango, her cheeks a bright red.

Kagome chanced a glance at Sesshoumaru in panic, wondering if he knew what had happened but he seemed as calm and collected as ever. Kagome breathed a sigh of relief and then scolded herself for her stupidity. Of course he wouldn't know, unless he had been awake and had also decided to grab a midnight snack. Kagome panicked again and looked at him. _'Please gods, don't let that have happened!'_ But Sesshoumaru still seemed unruffled and collected as he read the paper.

Looking up over the paper to see Kagome looking at him, he smiled. Kagome smiled rather shakily back. 

_'Gods, if all of this doesn't kill me then nothing else will…'_ Kagome thought.

Kagome avoided Inuyasha's eyes all morning and she was relieved that he didn't say anything to her. Her relief soon fled when Sesshoumaru and Inutaisho announced that they were heading down to the office.

"You're leaving?" Kagome asked hurriedly, panic-stricken. 

Sesshoumaru smiled reassuringly and gently stroked her cheek with the back of his hand. "Father's paperwork has piled up and he'll be needing some help. It shouldn't take too long. I'll take you out to dinner tonight to make it up to you, okay?"

Kagome nodded and he kissed her cheek before following his father out the front door and Kagome watched perhaps the only barrier between her and Inuyasha leave. Now nothing really stopped Inuyasha from talking to her about last night.

Inuyasha had watched the exchange between Sesshoumaru and Kagome, glad that he was finally leaving. His blood began to boil when Sesshoumaru stroked her cheek though and he gritted his teeth. _'Who does that bastard think he is?'_ he asked himself angrily and a tiny voice in the back of his head, the voice Inuyasha hated, answered that he was her fiancé. His hands clenched into fists and he grew even angrier when Sesshoumaru kissed her cheek. _'It was only a chaste kiss on the goddamned cheek! That's not even close to what we did so quit getting so angry!'_ Inuyasha mentally berated himself.

Not two seconds after the front door had shut behind Sesshoumaru, Moriko walked down the hall, digging through her purse for her car keys, and Kagome's panic level jumped to an all-time high.

"Are you going somewhere?" Kagome asked, though she already knew the answer if her rotten luck thus far stayed with her.

"Oh yes, just out to run a few errands. I should be home in time to cook dinner," Moriko said cheerfully and then went out the front door.

Kagome paled. Dinner wasn't for hours. Moriko and Sesshoumaru and Inutaisho would all be gone for hours. Kagome rested her forehead against the door. Everything keeping Inuyasha from talking to her about the incident in the kitchen was gone.

"Damn vacations, damn cars, damn phones, damn doors, damn wedding rings, damn wedding dresses, damn paperwork, damn work in general, damn offices, and damn the word 'damn.' Damn them all to Hell," Kagome said, listing everything she wanted to damn right about now and banging her head against the door to emphasize each 'damn.' She usually wasn't one to swear much but she really felt the situation called for swearing for no reason at all. After all, being engaged to the brother of the guy you loved in high school, whom you just fully snogged the night before was definitely a situation that really did call for damning things for no reason.

"When did you get a job as Satan? Is it a part-time gig?" 

_'Oh great, just the person I wanted to see right about now…'_ Kagome thought as she turned to see Inuyasha standing behind her, smirking. "I don't really have the power to damn things but if I did, all those things would be rotting away in Hell right about now," Kagome replied, hoping her voice sounded much calmer than she really was.

"I think this is our cue to leave," Sango whispered to Miroku. They were on their stomachs peeking over the edge of the top step of the stairs directly behind Inuyasha, looking down at him and Kagome. 

"Shh…" Miroku said, engrossed in what was happening at the foot of the stairs.

"Would you damn me?" Inuyasha asked, grinning a lopsided sort of grin that made Kagome weak in the knees.

"It depends on what you've come to talk to me about," Kagome answered, leaning back against the door for some sort of support.

"Nice one, Kagome-chan," Sango whispered.

"Kagome…I actually wanted to talk about last night," Inuyasha told her.

"Then yes, damn you too, Inuyasha."

Miroku frowned from his position at the top of the stairs. "What happened last night?" he whispered, more to himself than Sango.

Sango grinned. "Inuyasha didn't tell you?"

Miroku looked at her. "No, did Kagome tell you?"

Sango nodded proudly. " I think maybe you should listen to this then, because you'll probably be able to figure out what happened depending on what Inuyasha wants to say about it."

"You're probably feeling pretty guilty right now, but frankly, I'm not," Inuyasha stated firmly, stuffing his hands into his pocket and shrugging.

"Inuyasha, I don't really want to talk about this right n-" Kagome began as she tried to move past him and up the stairs, trying not to look at him, but he grabbed her arm and turned her towards him.

"We have to. We'll have to sooner or later anyway and you know it," Inuyasha insisted.

"Well I'd rather it were later!" Kagome retorted tartly.

"And I'd rather it were now. Haven't you ever heard of compromise?" Inuyasha growled.

"Well the compromise between now and never is still later so we'll talk about it later. How's that for compromise?"

Inuyasha frowned and then grinned. "Give me two seconds. I'm trying to figure out if any of that made any sense."

"Well while you figure that out, I'm going to my room," Kagome said firmly, trying to pull her arm out of his grasp but he held firm.

"No, I said I wanted to talk!"

"And I said I didn't! Haven't you ever heard of compromise?"

"I don't give a fuck about compromising right now! I only said that so you wouldn't leave anyway," Inuyasha snapped. Then his voice dropped slightly in volume. "You can't tell me that the kiss meant nothing to you. I know you well enough to know that it did, Kagome."

"You sure think you know me pretty well for not having seen me, much less having talked to me in the last two years!" Kagome said, trying to cross her arms as best she could with an arm still in Inuyasha's grip.

"Because you're still just as I remember you! And I sure as hell know you better than my bastard of a brother who _has _seen you and talked to you in the last two years!"

"Inuyasha, you had your chance and you left!"

"Do you think I could help it?! I couldn't help that my so-called mother decided to drag me away!"

"Uhm, do you think we should maybe leave them alone now?" Sango asked uncertainly. It seemed as if the conversation were taking a rather personal and private level.

"Shh…" was Miroku's only answer as he tried to listen more closely to their conversation and Sango sweatdropped.

"Then why didn't you call, visit, write, anything?! I was absolutely heartbrok-"

"You want to know why I didn't?" Inuyasha hissed.

"I wouldn't ask if I didn't want to know!" Kagome retorted hotly.

"I was afraid, all right? I was damn near terrified!"

"Of what?!" Kagome cried incredulously. "Of me?"

"No, I was going to visit but then I changed my mind because I didn't want my heart to be ripped out if I visited you only to find that you weren't missing me at all. I was afraid I'd see that you had forgotten all about me. I was afraid to visit and find out that you had already moved on."

"Are you kidding me?! If you know me as well as you say, you would know that I was crushed for months after you left! I ignored any guys' advances and I barely even left the house because I was afraid I'd miss your call! I finally had to move on seeing as you weren't coming back but a day didn't go by when I didn't wish you'd come back," Kagome said, her voice starting loud and ending up in a sort of vehement whisper.

"But I'm back now and you shouldn't be with him, Kagome. You should…you should be with me," Inuyasha finished.

Kagome looked up to the ceiling. "Why are you doing this to me?" she asked the gods. She was beginning to believe that the gods hated her; either that or they were all having a laugh upstairs for putting in all these situations.

"I know I'm putting you in a bad position but I wouldn't ever forgive myself if I didn't try just like I've never forgiven myself for not coming back," Inuyasha said quietly, thinking that Kagome had been talking to him, and took his hand off her arm to take her hand in his, lacing his fingers through hers.

"But I just-I can't just-I…" Kagome stuttered, suddenly confused and tired and dizzy and even more confused. Suddenly all the tension and stress and battling emotions washed over her tenfold and she felt an uncharacteristic surge of anger. "Inuyasha, stop doing this to me! I'm doing just fine now without you waltzing back into my life like you were never gone! But the fact of the matter is that you were gone and you didn't come back. Don't place this burden on my shoulders because you were too insecure to come back, call, visit, anything! So do me a favor and stay out of my life for another two years!"

She turned on her heel to march up the stairs but Inuyasha grabbed her arm again.

"Is that what you want?" he asked, his eyes flashing angrily.

Kagome's anger suddenly died down and she could feel tears welling in her eyes. She couldn't answer that. She couldn't tell him that she wanted him to leave her for another two years but she also couldn't tell him that she wanted him to stay with her and never leave her again. She couldn't tell him that now. There was just nothing she could say to answer his question since-quite honestly-she didn't know what she wanted anymore. So she turned and ran up the stairs, Miroku and Sango scrambling to their feet and running to their rooms so that Kagome wouldn't find out that they had been eavesdropping.

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**A/N: **Poor Kagome-chan! Wow…I'm so mean to her. O.o This is a longer chapter than I usually write but once I started I couldn't stop. This fic is so much fun even though I'm pretty evil to Kagome in it. At the end of the chapter, I shouted "No! What happens next?!' completely forgetting that I'm the one writing it. ^.^;; Anyway, so in the next chapter, Sesshoumaru stays late at the office and he tells Kagome to go out to dinner anyway to have some fun. Guess who Sesshoumaru volunteers to take her to dinner since he can't make it! ^.~ 

**Review Responses:**

Farren: I write fluff good?! Well you read the good fluff. Usually my fluff is more like…wet cotton balls in that wet cotton balls aren't fluffy and just flop. Yeah, my fluff usually flops like a wet cotton ball but I actually wrote and re-wrote and re-re-wrote and re-re-re-wrote that fluffy part until I actually liked it ^.^ Thanks for the compliments on my fluff though! It made me dance when I read your review. Unfortunately, I can't get rid of Sesshoumaru just yet ^.^ He still needs to make a few appearances in the story.

Snooptopian: Cookie! Yes! ***Munches happily on the cookie***

Rare-hunters (x6): Yup yup, but they don't need water, let them burn, baby, burn! Err…O.o Sorry, my sister always does this weird chant thing about the roof on fire and I think she must've gotten it from Head of State because I think it was in that movie. You commenting that they were on fire just reminded me of that chant ^.^

Celtic*Lady*Knight: I know, that's probably my favorite chapter ^.^ You liked my fluff too?! Wow, all that practicing and re-writing must be paying off ^.^

Akane: Ranma fan? I've read some of the manga and seen the anime. It's hilarious. Anywho, thanks for reviewing!

Kittymui: Hehehe, I'm glad you didn't faint. I wouldn't want to get sued ^.^ Can you just imagine the headlines? "Pam's Fics Bad For Your Health." "Pam's Fics Can Kill!" Okay, it wouldn't be big enough news to need a headline but that would be pretty funny. 

Jak1: I know! I was so excited too. I was waiting forever to be able to write the kissing scene! And then I finally got to do it and I'm like "Wahoo!" Hey! Don't kill Sesshoumaru! I still need him for the story! He still needs to go around messing up the perfect Kagome/Inuyasha moments and…He went that way!! ***Points in the direction Sesshoumaru went*** You didn't hear it from me.

Sprout: O.O Wow, thanks!

Hanamaru285: Thanks!

Fat Cat Buyo: I like this chapter too ^.^

Sleep walking chicken and HAP: I know. I really need to get rid of him but if I do that, the fic will be over and I don't want that either. So I suppose killing him off will just have to wait ^.^


	9. IX: The End But Not

**A/N: **You all probably aren't used to me updating so quickly (it usually takes me awhile to update). ^.^ I read Snooptopian's review and I was like "Whoa, this calls for speedy update," so I started writing this chapter right after I read it to try to get it up within a week ^.^ and did a speedy update. Here is your fun stuff Snooptopian. ^.^  And I get a bag of cookies now!

**Disclaimer:** I disclaim everything except the stuff that's mine.

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Old Feelings Die Hard 

**Chapter IX**

When Kagome's door slammed shut, Sango and Miroku walked out of the room and down the stairs as if they weren't sure about what had just happened, though they had witnessed the entire thing. They found Inuyasha in the kitchen with his elbows on the table and his face buried in his hands.

"Do you guys think I'm wrong here?" Inuyasha mumbled suddenly.

"Uhm…well it really depends actually." Before Inuyasha could ask about what it depended on, Miroku continued. "It depends on how she feels. I mean, if she's really moved on then you're probably wrong but if she still has feelings for you, maybe you're doing her a favor." Miroku then turned to Sango expectantly.

"Hey, no way! What Kagome-chan tells me is none of your businesses. If she wants me to tell you, or if she wants to tell you herself, then you'll know but until then, it's private," Sango stated firmly, crossing her arms as if daring Miroku to press further. "But I will tell you that she doesn't want to marry Sesshoumaru and I personally don't like him at all."

"I still think he's a girl," Miroku said seriously.

Inuyasha snorted. "Probably make things a lot easier if he was female."

"I don't think she'll go through with it. I actually expected her to call it off much sooner. I was watching her when her parents came over for dinner and I thought she was going to die," Sango said.

Then Inuyasha narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Wait, how'd you guys know what I was talking about?"

Sango and Miroku glanced at each other and then Sango pointed to Miroku. "It was all his idea!"

Kagome spent the rest of the afternoon up in her room, sketching, reading, and writing while Sango and Miroku went out for lunch and a movie and Inuyasha hung around the house, watching T.V., drawing, thinking, or pacing the length of the kitchen.

Around seven, the phone rang and Kagome picked it up off the nightstand from her position on the bed. "Hello?"

"Kagome?"

"Sesshoumaru?" Kagome asked, sitting up.

"It seems to be busier here at the office than I though so I won't be home until late. Would you mind getting Inuyasha on the phone?"

Kagome blinked in confusion. "You want to talk to Inuyasha?" 

"Yes."

"Err…all right…" Kagome said, still perplexed. She stood and crossed the room to reach the door and pull it open. Then she poked her head out into the hall and called, "Inuyasha! Sesshoumaru wants to talk to you!"

"What?" Inuyasha asked, sounded just as confused as she did. "I've got the phone down here."

Hanging up the phone, she sat back down on the bed to finish her drawing. She heard some shouting on Inuyasha's part and then a bit of silence as he listened to Sesshoumaru's reply. Then Inuyasha began shouting again. 

"No way in hell! You are such a bastard, you know that? Damn, you're supposed to be on vacation over spring vacation." After a moment of listening to Sesshoumaru, Inuyasha snorted. "I'm not telling her….no fucking way. You tell her."

Moments later, Inuyasha opened the door and handed her the phone. He stood there, leaning against the doorframe as Kagome finished talking to Sesshoumaru.

"I'll be late tonight so I won't be able to take you to dinner. Inuyasha said he would be glad to take you though."

Kagome paled. "Uhm…that really isn't necessary. I mean, we could just go sometime when you're not busy. You know, I-"

"Nonsense, I said you'd go out to dinner but unfortunately I can't make it. You'll still go out to dinner. You shouldn't have to hang around the house all day. While Inuyasha wasn't my first choice to accompany you, my business associates weren't available. Try to have fun, okay? I'll make it up to you, I promise." And then Sesshoumaru hung up.

Kagome held the phone out in front of her to make sure that all this was really happening and that the phone was real. Unfortunately for her, the phone was very real and all of that had happened. 

She glared at the phone and then shouted into it, though Sesshoumaru had already hung up. "Business associates?! Don't you have normal friends?!"

With that said, she handed the phone back to Inuyasha, looking down at her feet and scowling. Great, Kagome thought, just great. Going to dinner with Inuyasha…great…

"Uhm, you know, you don't really have to-" Kagome began, but Inuyasha threw her coat at her head.

"Personally, I don't like it any more than you do but I wouldn't want your _fiancé _to get pissed at me. Besides, he asked nicely," Inuyasha grumbled, leaving the room and heading down the hall.

Kagome frowned and then hurried to catch up with him. "You're doing this because he asked _nicely_?! Well _please_ don't take me to dinner," Kagome said, emphasizing the word 'please.' When she saw that he kept walking towards the door, she said, "But I said it nicely!"

Inuyasha smirked. "That's not how it works. Someone else asking nicely can't cancel out the first person asking nicely. See? Besides, I've got nothing better to do and I'm bored." He glanced sidelong at her then. "After this I promise to stay out of your life for another two years."

"About that," Kagome said once they were in the car and Inuyasha was driving somewhere. "I really…well I really didn't mean that. I really don't want you to stay out of my life. I mean, I still want to be friends, you know? I'm sorry that I said that because I really didn't mean it. I was just frustrated or confused or something and I just wasn't thinking…at all." Kagome finally glanced over at him to see if he accepted the apology or not.

Inuyasha just shrugged, keeping his attention on the road in front of him.

"Inuyasha, were you even listening?" Kagome asked, sighing in frustration.

He glanced over at her now, grinning. "Not really."

Crossing her arms, Kagome huffed angrily and turned to look out the window. 

"Well I just apologized and it's your fault you weren't listening so I'm not doing it again," Kagome said.

The yellow light in front of them turned red and Inuyasha sped up to get through it, swerving around a car that was coming into the intersection when his light turned green. Kagome gripped the seat and turned to see the intersection clogged with traffic now.

"Inuyasha! That was a red light!" Kagome said, frantically searching for the seatbelt that she hadn't buckled as soon as they got in the car.

Inuyasha glanced over at her, grinning as she nervously buckled her seatbelt and then shrugged. "It was yellow."

"It was red! You're speeding, slow down."

Inuyasha looked around for a speed limit sign and grinned. "I don't see any speed limit sign. I guess that means I get to drive as fast as I want."

"It's 25 miles per hour when there's no speed limit sign!" Kagome protested. "Does this thing have airbags?"

Inuyasha glanced over at her, frowning. "This '_thing_' is a 2003 black Mustang and yes, it does have airbags," he said and then added, "theoretically."

Kagome paled. "What?"

Inuyasha shook his head. "I was kidding." Then he looked over at her, cocking his head thoughtfully. "Since when were you afraid of my driving?"

"Since I learned about driving _safely_!" Kagome retorted, scanning the road for any collisions Inuyasha could possibly get in.

Seeing this, Inuyasha grinned and sped up, making Kagome squeak and grip the seat until her knuckles were white. "Damn Kagome, just relax. I haven't ever got into a car crash…yet."

"But not for lack of trying, I'm sure," Kagome muttered. "I'm driving on the way home."

Inuyasha snorted. "You think I'd let you drive this? I don't think so."

Kagome's eyes widened in disbelief. "You let yourself drive it! If I drive it, it's in far better hands!"

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "And it'd be in even better hands if it were being driven by my brother but I'm not about to let him drive it either."

Kagome decided that a change of subject was in order since they were now back to talking about Sesshoumaru. "Where are we going anyway?"

Inuyasha didn't answer so Kagome returned to scanning the roads. When he parked the car and got out, Kagome saw that it was the diner that she had gone to after that first dinner with Sesshoumaru's parents.

"My favorite diner," Inuyasha answered when she glanced over at him questioningly.

She nodded and followed him inside and to a table. While waiting for their food to arrive, an uncomfortable silence hung over them and Kagome desperately groped for something to talk about. Finding nothing, she tapped her fingers on the table and glanced around her while humming the elevator music that was playing quietly in the diner.

Inuyasha snorted. "Uncomfortable much?"

Kagome jumped. "N-no. I mean, of course not."

"Kagome…you were humming the elevator music," Inuyasha said, the corners of his mouth twitching as he tried not to laugh. Then he sighed, shaking his head. "Do you want to talk about this?"

"T-talk about what?" Kagome asked, suddenly finding the table very interesting indeed. _'Good Kagome…just play dumb and maybe he'll let it drop,'_ Kagome thought, and then sighed inwardly. _'Not likely with my bloody luck.'_

Inuyasha sighed and spread his hands. "Fine, I'll wait." Then he leaned back, laced his fingers behind his head, and just stared at her.

Kagome glanced up and he was still staring intently. When she looked up again, he was still watching her, waiting. Fidgeting nervously, she looked around her to avoid looking at him as she returned to humming the music. When she chanced a glance at Inuyasha, his shoulders were shaking with silent laughter.

"This isn't funny!" Kagome said, glaring.

"Who's laughing?" Inuyasha asked innocently.

"Y…you…" Kagome began, trying to find something sharp and witty and biting to say to him. Instead, she just muttered, "You're absolutely impossible."

"You're not the first one to say so," he said, still staring at her, unblinking.

"What, so we're going to have a staring contest then?" Kagome asked tartly, crossing her arms.

Inuyasha grinned. "If I win, we get to talk."

"And if I win, you will stay silent the entire meal"-then she grinned-"and you'll take me to that arcade across the street for a game of air hockey."

"Agreed."

"1…2…3…"

Thirty seconds into the staring contest, the waitress came to their table with their food.

"Sir, I wasn't sure what kind of sauce you wanted so-" she began as she placed their orders on the table.

Inuyasha waved a hand dismissively, not looking away from Kagome. "Whatever, sod off, I'm busy."

The waitress glared at him, her hands on her hips. Then she smirked. "I'll just add them all then, sir."

When Inuyasha didn't answer, she grinned and removed the top bun from the burger he had ordered. Then she squirted excessive amounts of ketchup, mustard, ranch dressing, honey mustard, horseradish, and barbeque sauce on the beef patty, adding plenty of salt and pepper for good measure.

At the angle they were sitting at, Inuyasha couldn't see what the waitress was doing unless he tore his eyes away from Kagome to forfeit the staring contest, but Kagome could just make out the waitress's actions out of the corner of her eye and she grinned.

Replacing the top bun, the waitress smiled cheerfully. "Enjoy your meal!" she called over her shoulder as she all but skipped away.

Still grinning broadly, Kagome groped around the tabletop and grabbed a French fry and ate it without looking away from Inuyasha. As she was hoping, his hunger got the better of him and he grabbed his burger without looking away and took a large bite. He immediately made a face and spit it out, coughing and choking.

"What the fuck?" Inuyasha choked, blinking in confusion.

"I win!" Kagome shouted triumphantly and she stood and did a little victory dance. Then she burst into laughter, seeing that Inuyasha was still choking and spluttering and was attempting to wash down the taste of all the sauces mixed together with his soda.

Inuyasha lifted the bun of his burger and shot to his feet, glaring as he looked around the diner. "Where the hell is she?"

Kagome, still laughing uncontrollably, pushed him back into his seat. "Come on, you were a jerk to her. Apologize and I'm sure she'll get you a new burger," she said between laughs.

Inuyasha scowled. "Better be a big one," he muttered.

Half an hour later, Kagome and Inuyasha were at the arcade, playing air hockey, Kagome's favorite arcade game. When Inuyasha had won one game and Kagome had won one game, Kagome left to get some more change so they could break the tie.

When she turned back towards the air hockey table, she saw Inuyasha talking with a pretty girl and her friends. She immediately felt a surge of some emotion. Was it anger? Jealousy? Whatever it was, it made Kagome march over to Inuyasha and tap him on the shoulder.

"Inuyasha," she said, smiling sweetly. "You're boyfriend's looking for you."

Inuyasha made a sort of choking noise and his mouth opened and closed, though no words came out. The girls' smiles all dropped like flies. 

"Oh, you should have told us," one of them sniffed as the others followed her away.

"What the hell was that?!" Inuyasha finally managed to shout.

"What do you mean?" she asked innocently.

"You told them I was fucking gay!" he shouted, causing many heads to turn their way. Inuyasha glared furiously at them and they immediately returned to whatever they were doing.

"You're a pathological flirt!" Kagome shouted back.

"What, five seconds ago I'm gay and now I'm a pathological flirt?!" Inuyasha asked. Then he blinked, the anger suddenly dissipating. "You were jealous."

"I was not!" Kagome protested indignantly. 

Then his anger was back tenfold. "Oh I get it, you can just move on but I can't? Is that it? You can get pissed off when I talk to other girls but you expect me to stand by and let you marry my fucking brother?! Kinda selfish, don't you think?"

"That's not-it's not like-it's-" Kagome stuttered, at a loss for words. _'Gods, why me?'_ Kagome asked herself over and over again. She was angry and sad and confused and lost all at once. "Damn, I-I can't do this-I-I can't deal with this anymore! I'm going back," Kagome finally shouted.

"Good idea," Inuyasha agreed hotly, storming towards the door.

Kagome hurried to catch up with him as he unlocked his car. "No, I don't mean going back to your house. I'm going back to my dorm. I'm packing my things as soon as we get back to the house."

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**A/N:** Wow…even I didn't know I was going to do that until I typed it O.o Hmm…well that's not a cliffhanger. It's just a twist/surprise/'Oh gods why did you write that' itty-bitty ledge. ^.^ So review, it makes me happy ^.^ Oh, and bonus points for whoever can spot the lines that come from another show/movie. One of the lines comes from a movie and another one of the lines comes from an anime show. Bonus points are worth nothing, they're just there to raise your self-esteem ^.^

**Review Responses:**

Kitsune-balloon: Here's the next chapter so you can start going in your tracks again ^.^

Lisi Naiku: Nope, not Jaken O.o Jaken will probably not be making an appearance in this fic. At least I haven't planned on him making an appearance.

Diva Erinnus: IY/Kag is the best Inuyasha pairing! ^.^ Well, that my biased opinion anyway ***grin***

Jak1: ***Grabs popcorn and sits to watch***

Sprout: Argument award? Wow, that would be the greatest award to have. Then writers would be like "Yeah, I won a Newberry Honor Award" or "I won a National Book Award" and I would say "Oh yeah, well I won the best argument award so there!" ^.^ The make out-I mean make up scene doesn't come till…next chapter…I think…Unless I add another little twist ***Insert evil cackle*** 

DevilishGrl17: Me neither. They need to get together. Still haven't decided about how to break the news to Sesshoumaru…***Evil laugh***

Inu lover: Thanks, I'm glad you like it! I hope this was A.S.A.P. enough ^.^

Crimson red: I hope my fic keeps you interested till the end ^.^ Thanks for reviewing!

Celtic*Lady*Knight: Yup, definitely lots of drama. And Sesshoumaru is indeed and emotionless void. He's a pretty emotionless void but Inuyasha has a more masculine prettiness ^.^

Snooptopian: Here's fun stuff! I get cookies now! ***holds out hands for cookies***

Fat Cat Buyo: Oh, didn't realize Sesshoumaru fans were reading as well ^.^ 

Sleep walking chicken and HAP: Yup, plotless story would be kinda boring. Unless it's a humor plotless story. Then it's funny ^.^

Hanamaru285: Thanks for reviewing ^.^

Kittymui: Uhm…perhaps. I don't have any planned but if people wanna see Miroku/Sango development, I guess I could work it in.

Chaos' Light: Wow ***munches on cookie and takes gift box*** Thanks! ^.^ 


	10. X: Gone But Impossible to Forget

A/N: Gomen nasai! Gomen nasai! ***Bows and continues to apologize profusely*** I went to the huge comic book store and the Asian marketplace and then I stayed at my friend's house and then I went camping for three days and when I got back home and turned on my desktop computer, my hard drive just went KABOOM! Well, not really kaboom but you get my drift, yeah? My caught a virus. I mean it just totally crashed and my dad couldn't fix it right away. I'm just EXTREMELY glad that I keep all my fanfictions on my laptop and not my desktop otherwise they would have all gone down with the hard drive. But I still have my stories; the only problem was finding a computer to upload them from. My laptop doesn't have internet access so yeah. But now I'm back on the computer and the only reason this wasn't up last week was because I had school and the teachers absolutely loaded me with homework.

Anyway, last chapter, I gave those bonus questions for you all to answer and one reviewer answered that one of the lines came from How To Lose a Guy in 10 Days, which is absolutely correct, but no one picked out the other line. In the Cartoon Network dubbing of Yu Yu Hakusho, some girls start talking to Kuwabara and Kurama comes over and they ask if Kurama is his girlfriend and Kuwabara laughs and tells them that Kurama is a guy. So they say "Oh, you should have told us," and then walk away. So yeah, that one was a bit harder to pick out and answer though.

Disclaimer: Don't own the characters…still…

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**Old Feelings Die Hard**

**Chapter X**

"Damn!" Sango cursed, peeking through the curtains of a window at the front of the house, overlooking the driveway.

"What? They're back?" Miroku asked, eagerly hopping off of his place on the couch in front of the T.V. to look over her shoulder out the window.

"Yeah, they're back but neither of them look too happy," Sango said.

"No kidding," Miroku whistled. "Inuyasha looks ready to kill."

They heard the front door open and then slam shut before two pairs of stomping feet could be heard marching up the stairs. Neither Kagome nor Inuyasha said a word and Miroku and Sango soon heard two doors slam shut.

"This doesn't sound good," Sango said, wincing slightly.

"How 'bout you talk to Inuyasha and I talk to Kagome for a change?" Miroku asked. "I don't think this situation really calls for a man-to-man chat. Guys don't like to talk to each other about this kind of stuff."

Sango nodded but then jabbed a finger into his chest as she glared threateningly at him. "Don't you dare try anything on her or I'll track you down and beat you senseless, you got it?"

Miroku grinned. "Now Sango, I hardly find the desire to hit on other women now that I've met you!" he declared, taking her hand with the finger jabbing into his chest and kissing it before he strode off down the hall, knocking on the door to Kagome's room.

Sango stood frozen for a moment, her hand still in the air before she shook her head quickly and moved down the hall to knock on Inuyasha's door.

"You decent?" she shouted when he didn't say anything. She heard a noncommittal noise, muffled by the door and she supposed that meant, "Yes, please come in."

Pushing open the door, she stepped inside to see Inuyasha sitting in a black swivel chair in front of his computer desk, the computer on in front of him. He seemed to be working on some sort of 3D character design and he quickly minimized the window and turned in his chair to face her.

"Where's Miroku?" he asked, frowning.

Sango grinned as she sat on the edge of his bed, across the room from him. "You know him, he said he wasn't comfortable with these sorts of conversations."

He laced his fingers behind his head as he leaned back in his chair. "So that means he's where?"

Sango nodded towards the wall separating Inuyasha and Kagome's rooms. "Next door."

Inuyasha immediately leapt to his feet. "What? You let that pervert in her room? What the hell is the matter with you?" Then he made to hurry out the door and beat down Kagome's door but Sango shook her head.

"I wouldn't worry about it too much. I think she'll be fine. Besides, Kagome's acquired a nice left hook since you saw her two years ago," Sango said, grinning.

"Hmph," Inuyasha muttered, sitting back in his swivel chair after moving it closer to the separating wall to listen for any noises he didn't like. Miroku was his best friend but that didn't mean he trusted him with Kagome.

Sango hid a small smile by turning her head slightly.

"So…?" Inuyasha prompted, apparently impatient to get this conversation over with. 

"You okay?"

Inuyasha snorted, turning away from her to stare at the wall.

Sango continued unperturbed. "Well, if you ask me-which you didn't, I know-I think you're probably trying too hard. I mean, I'm not really supposed to tell you as much but I really think Kagome's heart still belongs to you. It may not seem like it right now but I know her pretty well, as do you, but I'm a bit less biased than you at the moment and I really believe that it's true. I think you just need to give her some space, you know? Thinking time."

Inuyasha was silent for long moments in which he continued to stare at the wall with his back to Sango before he finally said, "She's leaving."

"Well that's just-she what?!" Sango asked incredulously, completely unprepared for what he had said. Then she calmed down and said, more to herself than Inuyasha, "No, no, it's all right, I'm sure. Miroku's talking to her."

Inuyasha snorted again but said nothing.

After Kagome called to come in, Miroku stepped inside her room to find her lying on her bed, her head buried in her pillow. Sighing inwardly and deciding that this conversation would take a long while, he sat down in the swivel chair at her desk.

Kagome mumbled something into the pillow but her voice was so muffled that Miroku had to ask her to repeat it in English.

Lifting her head slightly, she said, "I'm really not in the mood for talking at the moment."

"Ahh but I really think you need to talk about this, don't you agree? And I'm very much in the mood for listening."

Kagome mumbled something again and Miroku stood up, walked across the room to stand by the bed, pulling the pillow out from under her face and threw it out the open door.

"Hey!" Kagome protested, getting up into a sitting position.

Miroku shut the door before sitting in the chair again. "You were saying?"

Kagome scowled at him, crossing her arms.

Standing up, Miroku began to pace the length of the floor beside the bed. "They way I see it, you have two choices here: a guy who's too perfect he's just plain wrong and…well and Inuyasha."

"I need to pack. Mind leaving?"

"Actually I do. We're not finished here and-what?" Miroku asked, stopping in his tracks.

"I asked if you minded leaving," Kagome repeated, looking under the bed for something.

"No, before that: you need to pack?"

"If I'm leaving, yes, I need to pack," Kagome explained as she pulled a sock out from under the bed and frowned at it.

"You're leaving. Wha-why?"

"Because I want to," she answered shortly, moving to the closet.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were running away."

Kagome paused for a moment, her coat in her hand. "I'm not," she said firmly as she pulled out her duffle bag.

"You lie."

"I do not!"

Miroku glanced over at her, giving her a look clearly saying, "Do I look stupid to you?"

"I'm not running and I'm not lying!" Kagome shouted, throwing her bag on the bed, glaring furiously at anything and everything. "Not running!" she said once more, just in case Miroku hadn't heard her the first time.

"Uh oh," Sango said, pressing her ear against the wall. "That moron. He's going about it all wrong."

Inuyasha soon heard shouting and he jumped up to press his ear to the wall as well.

"Not running!" he heard her firmly shout.

"I think you are," Miroku said in a singsong voice.

"Idiot!" Sango muttered.

The next thing that could be heard was Kagome sniffing and choking as she ranted and raved angrily at Miroku. Sango and Inuyasha heard something hit the wall. After that it was silent and Inuyasha pressed his head even closer to the wall in order to try to hear what was going on.

He heard the door to her room open and then he distinctly heard his mother's voice.

"Shit!" Inuyasha cursed. He hadn't even heard Moriko come home.

"Kagome! What's wrong dear?" Moriko asked, concerned, as she strode into the room.

"Oh, she just-" Miroku began to explain, a sly grin on his face but Kagome quickly cut him off.

"It's nothing! Miroku was just telling…me a sad story…about his dog…that died," Kagome explained hurriedly as she wiped her eyes. 

"And I think Kagome would probably like to tell you that she's leaving because-" Miroku began again, but Kagome broke into his sentence when she saw Moriko's crestfallen expression.

"I was just kidding. I'm not going anywhere. I love being here too much," Kagome said laughing nervously.

Moriko visibly brightened upon hearing this news and then cheerfully announced, "I'll start dinner!" before leaving the room.

Kagome waited until she heard Moriko's steps on the stairs before exhaling loudly and relaxing. Shoulders slumped, she plopped herself on the bed.

"So I suppose that means you're staying, yes?" Miroku asked cheerfully.

The same time the next night found Kagome sitting across a table from Sesshoumaru in a restaurant. Frowning, she looked over the menu. She couldn't read it; it was in a language she didn't know. French, she guessed, though it might have been Italian.

Finally giving up on the trying to decipher the menu, she furtively glanced at the man sitting across from her over the top of the menu. He was certainly very handsome, but his gaze was cold, business-like, brusque as his eyes scanned the menu. Feeling her eyes upon him, he looked up at her and his lips curled into a smile, though, she noticed, his eyes did not. Then he was back to scanning the menu.

_'Oh kami…'_ she thought to herself, a horrible sinking feeling in her stomach. Not even a week before, his smile would have made her stomach flutter pleasantly, or at least she would feel _something_. Now though…now she felt nothing. _'Oh kami…'_ she thought again, suddenly feeling horrible. 

She felt like she was being a bad person; a great guy, her fiancé, to be exact, was sitting across the table from her in a lovely restaurant. To any observers, it would seem she had everything but, truth was, she felt as if she were missing everything, or perhaps only one important thing…

_'I'm…I'm such a horrible person! What's…There's got to be something wrong with me! I-I love Sesshoumaru! I do! And Inuyasha…well he's out of the picture now, or at least, he should be!'_ Kagome thought, panicking slightly.

Then she stared at Sesshoumaru, determined to prove to herself that she was doing the right thing by being with him. Reaching forward, she grabbed the top of his menu, lowering it down to the table. His eyebrow arched inquiringly.

"Sesshoumaru, what am I to you exactly? I mean, what if I said that I wanted you to kiss me right here. Or what if I said that I don't much fancy this place and that I wanted to go to the diner down the road? Would you make out with me in a park?" Kagome asked boldly in a brusque, business-like tone.

Sesshoumaru slowly glanced around him, making sure that no one sitting at tables nearby had heard her. Once he was satisfied that they hadn't overheard, he leaned forward, looking slightly confused. "Love, where's this going, exactly? Do you have a fever? It sounds as if you're a bit delirious."

Kagome's mouth opened and closed in confused shock. "I'm…I'm not delirious! I want you to answer my questions!"

When Sesshoumaru didn't answer and just continued to look at her skeptically, as if trying to decide if she was serious or not.

"I take that as you wouldn't snog me in the park, what about the privacy of your own living room?" she prodded, seeing as how he didn't seem about to say anything anytime soon.

Now heads in the restaurant were turning towards them since Kagome's voice had continually increased in volume. The waitress came over to their table, speaking something in French, or maybe it was Italian.

Sesshoumaru, ignoring her previous comments, turned towards Kagome and asked, "Is it all right to start out with a bouillabaisse?"

"I don't know what that is!" Kagome shouted sharply. She was truly panicking now; she needed to have Sesshoumaru reassure her that he was the right guy for her and he wasn't cooperating. She needed to be reassured that she would be happy with him. "You need to answer my questions, please, it's important!"

"_Oui_," Sesshoumaru told the waitress, who nodded and left, casting a glance over her shoulder at the pair.

"Well? What about the living room? Or even the kitchen?" Kagome prodded, desperate for reassurance now.

In answer to the questioning glances being sent their way, Sesshoumaru explained to the other diners, "Delirium."

"_'Delirium?!'_ Is that how you'll explain me to everyone? That I have delirium? Do you feel that I need some sort of explanation?" Kagome asked.

"Are you sure there's nothing wrong?" Sesshoumaru asked, having the thoughtfulness to look concerned.

"What, so now there's something wrong with me, huh?"

"What's happened to you, Kagome?"

Kagome gazed at him for long moments before finally slumping in her chair, sighing. "Nothing, it's nothing." She couldn't believe that she had gone off on Sesshoumaru like that. He had done absolutely nothing wrong; she was one who felt that she had done wrong. If she were going to yell at anyone, it should have been herself. "I'm sorry, Sesshoumaru. I don't know what came over me. I must have some sort of fever, I suppose."

Sesshoumaru nodded and they went through dinner more or less in silence except for the occasional 'please pass the salt.'

In the car, Kagome felt as if she should say something more, anything to break the horrible silence, but she could find nothing to say. She had apologized and, quite frankly, she had nothing more to say.

Climbing out of the car when they pulled into the driveway, she shut the door behind her and walked up the driveway, exhaustedly stumbling through the front door. She had done nothing that had taken serious physical effort but the emotional effort of the day was enough to make anyone tired. After Inuyasha giving her the cold shoulder all day and dinner with Sesshoumaru, she was worn out.

Once inside the door, Kagome frowned as she realized something; she turned around and walked back out onto the driveway and noticed that it was strangely lacking a couple vehicles. Shrugging, she figured that Inuyasha and Miroku had gone out to the movies or a bar or something. Well, she hoped they weren't at a bar; the thought of some prostitute giving Inuyasha a lap dance made her twinge with jealously. 

_'Gods, Inuyasha was right…I am selfish, aren't I?'_ she asked herself glumly as she marched up the stairs, entering her room and throwing her purse onto the bed before collapsing onto the bed. 

Soon she heard someone knock on the door and the door opened to reveal a fidgety-looking Sango.

"What's up?" Kagome mumbled, staring up at the ceiling.

"Well…I just thought you might like-or not like-hearing that…well Inuyasha left."

"So what. He'll be back to give me some more of the cold shoulder in a few hours. Maybe not even until the morning," Kagome said, snorting derisively.

"No, I mean he and Miroku went back to their dorms," Sango explained hesitantly.

Kagome blinked up at the ceiling. "What?"

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**A/N:** Oh gods, you guys will not believe this. I think there'll only be one more chapter to this fanfiction. Wow, there might be two but as I'm seeing it right now, there's only one more. That's just unbelievable for me. This fic was so great ***sob*** I absolutely _loved_ writing this fic but it's almost over! ***sob*** And I know this chapter was crap (I'm still suffering from writersblockitis) but the next one will be SO much better because that's when Kagome and Inuyasha finally get together. ^.^ I'm excited for that. Anyway, after I get this last chapter out, I think I'm going to start editing and fixing up this story chapter by chapter to make it better, so if you wanna read an edited version, keep checking this story out. Oh, but I'm already babbling as if it's over, but it's not over just yet, haha. So leave a review and I'm looking at having this last chapter up next weekend so look out for it.

Review Responses:

AND THE WINNER OF LAST CHAPTER'S GUESS THAT LINE CONTEST IS:

Unknown! Yeah, the person reviewed anonymously so the only name I have is 'unknown.' ^.^;; Well anyway, this person guessed that that one line was from How To Lose a Guy in Ten Days. No one picked out that one from Yuu Yuu Hakusho but that one was really hard to pick out so I don't blame y'all ^.^ Anyway, congratulations unknown! You win Pam Points! They're not worth anything; they just boost your self-esteem ^.^

Insane Punk Pixie: I know! ***Drools*** ***Glomps Inuyasha*** NO! Not the wet noodle! ***Runs around in squares*** ***Runs into the wall*** Ittai…

TheFrozenCow: Haha, poor Abby. "Before you criticize someone, try walking a mile in their shoes. Because then, you'll be a mile away and you'll have their shoes…"

melody27: No worries, next chapter, they talk about it ten-fold. Not to mention she and Sesshoumaru talk about it and everything's resolved and everyone lives snoggingly ever after! Oops…I meant happily. I dunno how snogging got in there. ^.~

Kgirl33: It's your favorite? Wow, I feel so honored. O.O I feel so bad. I left you all with that itty bitty ledge and then I didn't update for forever. . But no worries, I will update sooner this time. The last chapter will probably be up next weekend I'm thinking.

crimson red: I did write more chapters ^.^ I just have one or two more to go, though I'm leaning more towards one more chapter ^.^

Farren: Kouga won't be in this story. Kouga does play a huge part in the sequel to When Did Things Get Complicated though, so keep reading that one because Kouga will be in it ^.^

Kitsune Akira: O.O! I get brownies?! YES! ***Does happy "I get brownies" dance***

Hanamaru285: Thanks ^.^

Celtic*Lady*Knight: You are a loyal reader and I didn't make her leave ^.^ Pam is good girl! 'Course…I did make Inuyasha leave. Haha, from now on, when you give me orders, you'll have to word them more carefully or I'll worm my way around them. ^.^ Pam is evil like that. ***Insert evil laughter and thunder claps here***

Fat Cat Buyo: ***Takes the Pocky and runs*** Wahaha!

Lisi Naiku: The fluff is all in the next chapter! So keep an eye out for it ^.^

sleep walking chicken and HAP: Haha, that's okay. I suffer my temporary bouts of laziness as well. Well…my temporary bouts of laziness is 24/7 so maybe they aren't exactly temporary…

Kittymui: Yup, women are hard to predict. But it's fun to be unpredictable. Mwuahaha! "IF YOU LIKE PINA COLADAS!" I'll bet you weren't predicting that ^.^ CHOCOLATE CAKE! WOW! You know what I love! ***Eyes narrow suspiciously*** Have you been watching me?


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